Amethyst Haze
by ChubbyCubby23
Summary: Agent America is sent on a mission by The Foundation, an organization of special ops agents used by the American government for sensitive operations worldwide, to retrieve one of its rogue agents. Will she be able to complete this mission?
1. The Mission

The small, dark room was quiet - save for the soft snoring of its only occupant, who was sleeping soundly in an equally small bed. A computer set up in another corner of the room turned on, its flashing screen bathing the room in an unearthly blue-white glow. The room's occupant remained in its slumbering state, unaware of everything around it.

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

An obnoxious beeping noise filled the room. The soft snoring stopped, but there was no further signs of the occupant waking up. The computer screen stopped flashing to reveal an office with large bookcases running along the back wall; an old wooden desk strewn with papers, pens, and maps was in the forefront of the screen. A man with shaggy blonde hair - and the biggest set of eyebrows that you'll ever see in your life - was sitting at the desk, and he did not look pleased.

"Agent America, we have a new and very important mission for you," the man said in an annoyed voice; he had a British accent that was very 007 sounding. Silence answered the man. He let out an exasperated sigh. "Amelia, I know that you're awake, you yank. You've stopped snoring."

"Hey! I don't snore!" an offended American voice sounded from beneath the bed sheets. A young woman with short, sandy blonde hair rolled out of the bed and stomped over to the computer; she grabbed a pair of glasses that were laying next to the keyboard and put them on as she plopped herself down in the chair in front of the computer, glaring at the screen. "I hate that you can turn on my computer whenever you feel like it, Iggy. It's _so _not cool. I should really bring it up to the boss man when I get a chance...," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest.

"It's The Foundation's computer, not yours, you twit. And don't call me Iggy! It's either Arthur or agent England. No other little nicknames, understood?" Arthur growled, massaging his temples with his hands. It was much too early in the morning to be dealing with this brat. "Are you going to shut up so that I can brief you on your bloody mission or not?"

"Yeah, yeah; go ahead, agent England." Amelia waved a hand at the man, her tone noncommittal.

"How long have you been in The Foundation?" Arthur asked in a serious voice.

Amelia frowned at the rather random question. Why would he ask her that? Besides it being totally out of no where, he could just look in her files. "Um...it'll be my tenth year in July...Why?" Amelia voiced her confusion.

"Ah, yes...Of course. So you were ten when you started your training...," Arthur said softly to himself. "Have you ever heard of agent Russia?" He completely ignored Amelia's question.

Amelia slumped back in her seat, thinking. Agent Russia...Russia, hmm. She knew that she had heard - from agent China, she thought - that he was the best agent that The Foundation had ever produced, but that he had disappeared a few years ago. That was in her fifth year of training. Amelia had only ever heard people describe him, she'd never actually seen the guy. Although, a memory was tugging at the edges of her mind...Gah, what was it?! She made a frustrated cry and slammed her head onto the table that the computer rested on, making Arthur jump. Amelia hated not being able to remember something.

"Are you alright, Amelia?" the Brit's concerned voice brought Amelia back to reality.

"Oh, yeah...Yeah! Totally fine, Iggy, totally fine." She perked up instantly. "I've only heard some rumors...nothing concrete. Does this have something to do with my mission?" she asked, giving the man an intrigued look.

Arthur frowned. "I thought not. By the time you would have been able to ask anything about him or his files, everything had been stricken from our database. The Foundation made him disappear virtually - even the older records that were on paper are gone. It's as though the man never existed in the first place," he sighed, suddenly feeling very tired.

That was odd. An agent's records are only destroyed when they've died or gone rogue. If this was a new mission, then agent Russia wasn't dead. It would be pointless to investigate a dead man, and The Foundation didn't make stupid moves like that. So, agent Russia must have gone rogue all those years ago. But why was he so important to The Foundation?

"About nine years ago, when you were in your second year of training, agent Russia went rogue. It was completely unexpected by The Foundation. He had been our best agent for a good time, having been with The Foundation ever since he was born. He had no contact with the outside world other than his missions. He killed another agent and wounded a good dozen others before disappearing. We've been searching for him ever since then, but have been unable to track him down. That is, until several hours ago. Agent France came across some unexpected intel while on another mission that was completely unrelated. We believe that agent Russia has been working in a weapons smuggling ring as their personal assassin. One of the weapons dealers let slip about this assassin, who was only referred to as The Russian, and told agent France where to find him. Now, normally, we wouldn't act on such trivial and, frankly, unreliable intel, but this dealer mentioned something else of interest. This man had _amethyst _colored eyes...That is not a feature that you just come by. This is our only connection between the two, and we must act on this possible chance that it _is _agent Russia." Arthur paused for a moment to take a sip of his tea.

Amelia took this chance to get in a question. "Hey, do you mind me asking why this guy is so important?"

Arthur's emerald green eyes flashed up at her face before he closed them. "I...I'm not quite sure if I should be telling you this or not, but...," he murmured, lowering the tea-cup back onto its dish, "Agent Russia was...an experiment of sorts, you could say. The Foundation wanted to create the perfect human weapon, to be blunt. He was taught how to handle weapons of all kinds, how to fight in any situation, and all forms of torture possible at a very young age; he was also taught every language that he would ever need to use for missions. He was never allowed to show any kind of emotion, so as not to compromise any of his assignments. He was to be an agent that followed orders exactly, never questioning them and always carrying out the mission...no matter what. It was of no concern how many other agents were killed in the process of this sick experiment...only that agent Russia performed as he was expected to. And he did...until something set him off." Arthur opened his eyes again, fussing with the tea-cup and dish on his desk.

Amelia stood up and stretched, going over to her dresser and taking out all the things that she would need for this mission. Something told her that she was going need a lot of fire power on this one, if what she was hearing was anything to go by.

Arthur seemed bewildered by her calm attitude about the whole situation. Had she been dozing off while he was talking? "Amelia, you do know what this mission is, right?" he asked, concern for the young woman obvious on his face. He had known the American for a while, and had taken on the role of elder brother, at least in his eyes. This mission was, more or less, a death sentence.

"Yeah, I know. Don't worry, Iggy. Everything'll work out. I'm the hero, remember?" Amelia stopped in her packing to flash the man a reassuring smile. "This guy may have been the best _before_, but I'm totally The Foundation's best right _now_." She winked at the Brit mischievously.

"Amelia, be serious about this! This man will have no qualms about killing you in the most brutally painful way that he can think of - and he knows many ways to do that! I can't let you-"

"Arthur...c'mon, I can do this. I'm not a little kid anymore," Amelia interrupted him quietly, stopping the ranting Brit in his tracks. She shouldered her old duffel bag and faced the computer screen again, a determined glint in her sapphire blue eyes.

Arthur sighed, knowing that he wouldn't be able to get the stubborn American to pass up the dangerous mission. "Alright...alright...I don't like it, but I can see that you won't decline the mission." The caring look on his face was quickly replaced with a serious, stoney expression. "Agent America, you are to travel to New York city and retrieve the rogue agent Russia. Our intel doesn't have a pinpoint location on him, so you'll have to do some digging. Agent France can get you into contact with the weapons smugglers; press them for information on The Russian. He is believed to be highly dangerous, and should be approached with the utmost of caution. You may use force, but not of lethal intent. We want him _alive_. Do you understand, agent America?" Arthur finished up the briefing.

"Yes, I do. Bring the rogue asset back alive. Got it. I'm all set...I'll be heading out now, 'kay?" Amelia replied, giving the man a salute and a smile before turning the computer off. She took one moment to breathe deeply and then headed out the door, locking it shut behind her.


	2. French Coffee

Amelia swore under her breath. Why did it have to be agent France? Of all the others, it just happened to be him! Agent France was a flirtatious pervert that didn't discriminate between sexes, and would do almost anything to get into someone's pants. Amelia cringed at the thought and took a large gulp of her coffee. She had been waiting at the café that agent France had designated as their meeting place for almost an hour now, and was already on her second cup of coffee. Where the hell was that jackass?! Just as Amelia was about to take another sip of her coffee, two arms encircled her waist from behind.

"Ahh, mon cher*, you have the same svelte body that I remember. I really don't know how you do - Argh!" a French accent purred next to Amelia's ear. Startled, Amelia tossed her coffee behind her and elbowed the person in the gut. She whirled around in her seat to see none other than agent France writhing on the ground, both hands wiping at his face, trying to get hot coffee out of his eyes.

"Francis, you dick! Why the hell did you sneak up behind me?!" Amelia yelled as the Frenchman scrambled to his feet.

"I wanted to surprise you, of course! Why did you throw your hot coffee at my beautiful face?!" he cried back at her, still wiping at his eyes.

"What the hell did you expect?! When you sneak up behind someone, they generally get startled, Frenchie. And I thought I told you, _no more touching_!" Amelia hissed at him angrily, her blue eyes blazing with fire.

"Yes, but I thought that maybe you had forgotten...Alas, you have not." Francis mourned his touching privileges in an overly melodramatic fashion. Amelia sighed as his antics drew the attention of several café patrons. "Now, down to business. You are going after agent Russia, oui*?" he asked in a hushed tone, suddenly turning serious.

"Yeah. I'm told that you can get me in with the weapons smugglers. So, lay it on me. What do I have to do to get in?" Amelia replied, glancing around the café to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them. "Are these guys real serious or what?"

"It will be easy enough to get someone of your personality in their ranks." Amelia gave him a glare, not really liking what the Frenchman was insinuating. "They are a large operation, but they aren't very organized. I don't really know why agent Russia would even bother working with them. He's a real no-nonsense type of guy; doesn't take kindly to inferiority or incompetence - something that seems to run rampant in this ring of dealers. The man truly baffles me." Francis gave a shrug of his shoulders, patting at his face with a handkerchief.

"So you've had contact with him?" Amelia inquired. She was curious as to how the Frenchman would describe the rogue agent. "Tell me everything I might need to know about this guy. I need to have the upper hand when I go after him."

Agent France gave her a searching look before speaking. "Well, he's not that much different from when I knew him in The Foundation. Although, he is much bigger than back then-"

"Bigger? When did you know him from The Foundation?" Amelia cut in.

Francis tapped his chin with his index finger, thinking. "Hmm, let's see...I was ten when I first met him, so he must have been at least five years old. He was already learning some advanced fighting techniques, if I remember correctly. He was always an odd one. I could never figure out if he wanted to be left alone or get to know some of the other kids. Even up until he defected, I couldn't tell," he answered in a thoughtful voice.

Amelia narrowed her eyes at that. So, agent Russia really _had _been with The Foundation since he was born. When Arthur told her that, she had doubted it. The Foundation usually only took in children that were ten years of age. For this guy to have been with them for so long was strange to Amelia, but it went along with the story of him being The Foundation's human weapon experiment. You would have to get someone very young and impressionable to be able to mold them into that type of mindset.

"How will I recognize him? I want to be able to spot him easily."

"Oh, you won't have to worry about that, mon cher. Even in a sea of people you would be able to pick him out. When I said he had gotten bigger, I really meant it! The boy is a bear in human form - and has the strength of one, too! I would estimate him to be at least six feet, give or take a few inches, and two hundred and fifty odd pounds. Definitely not the right match up for your petite frame, Amelia." Francis winked at her.

"Can it, pervy. I can take this guy down in two seconds flat," Amelia said, puffing out her chest proudly.

"A word of caution, mon cher, this man has no conscience. I witnessed him beat an entire family to death with nothing but a faucet pipe. He spared no one, not even the young girls." Francis paused as a shudder ran through his body. "Throughout the entire gruesome event...he smiled, never once faltering in his actions. It was like he couldn't hear their screams or pleading at all." He looked her right in the eyes, concern clear in his. "Amelia, this man is a monster. Do not take him lightly. If you must...do not hesitate to kill him. He will not show you the same kindness that you would."

Amelia bristled at that. "Why does everyone think that I can't do this?! I'm a full-fledged agent just like you and Arthur, so why does everyone treat me like a child?!" she demanded in a raised voice, but didn't actually yell. "Just...," Amelia lowered her voice again, sighing, "Just tell me how to get into contact with the smugglers, alright?"

Francis gave a defeated sigh. "Oui, well...don't get mad about this, but I will have to go in with you. These people may be disorganized, but they aren't stupid enough to let in someone that I refer to them out of the blue. Do you have a sturdy back story, Amelia?" he asked, folding his arms across the small café table and leaning in slightly.

"Yep. My name is Jessica Lockehart, and I've been in and out of gangs and other smuggling rings as a hired gun for five years. The Foundation has set up records for me that go along with your own, 'kay? So I'm going to need to know your story as well," Amelia replied, leaning forward a little as well. She wrinkled her nose as she did so, catching a whiff of agent France's cologne. Ugh, that stuff was powerful!

"Of course. It would be easier to explain if we had some history together." Francis nodded. "My name is Beau Monte, and I've been in this business for almost eight years now. I worked with several other very successful rings before their businesses were unceremoniously, and very suddenly, cut short." He chuckled at that. "I also like long walks on the beach, romantic dinners-"

"Stop right there! That's enough info, Frenchie," Amelia interrupted the Frenchman before he could say any more. "When do we leave?" she asked, feeling excitement start to pool in her stomach.

"Right now, mon cher," he said, standing up. He left some money on the table and, motioning for the American to follow, walked out of the café. Francis turned a corner and pulled out a pair of keys, approaching a black sports car.

"Whoa, Francis, where did you get _this_? I don't think I've ever seen this car before," Amelia whistled in appreciation, looking the car over. She was kind of a car nut, among other things.

"Oh, this? She's beautiful, isn't she?" Francis smirked and winked at Amelia. "It's not too surprising that you've never laid eyes on her majesty before. This is the Peugeot 907*; she was never meant to be a production car, but was instead intended to show off Peugeot's new design techniques as a prototype. I got my hands on her during a mission in Paris. I happened to be searching a certain government official's estate when I came across her in a warehouse, completely ignored. So, I figured that the car wouldn't be missed and I 'borrowed' her...For good reasons, of course."

Amelia rolled her eyes as Francis unlocked the doors and the two got into the vehicle. "Seriously...stop calling the car a 'she' or a 'her'. What's with guys and acting like their cars are women, anyway?" she wondered out loud, buckling her seat-belt.

"That is because cars and women are not all that different. They are both beautiful and lively; treat them right and they will never fail you, but if you stop paying attention to them they become temperamental and unpredictable," Francis answered, starting the car's engine and stroking the dashboard lovingly.

"Do I want to know the extent of your relationship with this car?" Amelia gagged.

Francis only laughed and pulled out onto the road.

* * *

><p>Mon cher : My dear <strong>in French<strong>

Oui : Yes **in French**

The Peugeot 907 is a real car, but it was never sold to the public; instead, being used as a prototype car to show off the company's new designs. It can be driven on the road like a fully functioning car, but I doubt it ever really was. If you want to read more in-depth about the Peugeot 907, I suggest looking it up on Wikipedia. It was one of the very few French-made sports cars I could find through Wikipedia, but I knew I wanted an actual French car for Francis to be driving, and this just fit the bill.


	3. Meet the Reaper

Agent France drove them to a sketchy part of the city, parking next to a seemingly abandoned grocery store. The whole area looked like the type of place where murder was a daily occurrence, none of the buildings looked inhabitable, and the only form of life was the bedraggled homeless that limped through the debris of the streets.

_This is still America, right?_ Amelia thought to herself as the two got out of the car.

Francis led her to the back entrance of the store, pushing the grimy door open. They walked into a surprisingly well-lit room filled with crates and other suspicious looking boxes. The boxes, though, weren't as suspicious looking as the people loitering about the room. They all looked like stereotypical underground weapons dealers; all trying to look tough or threatening. Several of them were smoking cigars, while others were drinking and taking turns throwing knives at a picture of some unknown political figure.

"Hey, hey; look who it is, lads! Ol' Francie pants is back!" a man with a shaved head let out a barking laugh, which was followed by others in the room. "What ya got there, Monte? Another conquest? She looks right feisty, she does. Think ya can handle her all by your lonesome?" Shaved Head guffawed.

Amelia bristled at that, and Francis stiffened. They both started to protest, but were cut off when a large dagger buried itself in the wall near Shaved Head's groin; barely missing its target. The entire room went silent, all laughter choking off nervously.

"That is not very civil of you, Adams. If that is how you treat women, I truly wonder how you ever get one into bed with you...without ropes, that is," a thickly Russian accented voice ghosted through the room, laced with sarcastic venom. A large man with short beige hair seemed to materialize out of thin air, leaning up against a stack of crates.

The man, Adams, swallowed audibly and glanced down at the dagger; clearly calculating how close he had come to losing his manhood, he edged away from the sharp weapon. The other men in the room burst out laughing again, but this time at Adams' expense.

"Ah-ah-ah. Ivan, is that any way to treat a comrade? You're such a violent fellow, you know that?" an older man scolded jokingly from a small table set up in an empty corner of the room, his watery eyes twinkling mischievously.

The Russian glanced at the old man briefly, his amethyst eyes flashing with obvious malice, but he stood down all the same.

"Now, Beau, it is very good to see you again. You haven't been around in a couple of days...We almost thought that you had been caught by the police, but what a silly thought that was, eh? Who is that you have with you?" the old man asked, sitting up in his chair.

"Oui, it has been a while, hasn't it? This is an old friend of mine - No, not like that, Tanaka! Get your mind out of the gutter - from the Johnston brothers' ring. Remember them? They had been quite successful in the lower district. Well, Jessica here was quite the gunslinger in that group; an excellent shot. I was hoping that you could do me a favor and give her a job here. She's definitely worth the small asking price," Francis said, while patting Amelia's shoulder, hoping to keep the American calm so that she wouldn't try to castrate Adams herself.

"Hmm, come closer, girl. Don't be shy, I won't bite," the old man beckoned for Amelia to step closer.

Amelia complied, walking past agent Russia in the process. She looked him over out of the corner of her eye. _Okay...Francis wasn't joking around about this guy being big. Jeez, he's, like, triple my size!_ She stopped in front of the seated man with her hands on her hips, feeling agent Russia's gaze boring into the back of her skull.

Meanwhile, the old man was looking her over and making small noises of indecision. "Well...I don't know, Beau. She doesn't look like anything special - No offense meant, Missy - especially when you compare her to Braginski here. Why, it's not much of a competition, is it?" he said, gesturing to agent Russia, who continued to watch Amelia intently.

_What did that old prune just say?! Not good enough?! Not good enough my ass, old man!_ Amelia was close to frothing at the mouth, but settled for just fixing a nasty look on the older man and thinking of ways to kill him slowly...with a spork.

"Well, it's not a matter of looks but skill, Mr. Mortimer. Why not test her skills out before actually hiring her? Do you have any pressing jobs that need to be taken care of?" agent France reasoned, his eyes flickering nervously to agent Russia. _He wasn't supposed to be here! I didn't think that there were any people who needed to be taken care of since that last bad deal...With him here, the plan might not work,_ he thought, desperately thinking of a back up plan.

"Hmm, test her, you say? What do you have to say about this, Braginski? After all, if I do hire this lovely lady, she'll be working with you," Mr. Mortimer, the ring's leader, asked the larger man. "You know more about this sort of thing than I do, so you'd make a better judge." The old man's eyes twinkled like that of a predatory bird about to catch its prey.

The Russian glanced at the ring leader out of the corner of his eye, looking thoroughly bored with the entire situation. He turned his gaze back to Amelia, pushed himself off of the crates he had been leaning up against, and walked over to the American. "I have to agree with comrade Monte, looks determine nothing. I have no problem working with the little American...so long as she can actually perform on our assignments, da*?" He circled around Amelia, looking her over with feigned interest. He moved silently, his heavy boots not making any noise on the debris covered floor of the store.

It reminded Amelia very much of a large cat toying with a mouse before it killed it. She did not like the feeling. "Why do you think I'm American? I could be Canadian for all you know," Amelia ground out. The smug look on the Russian's face really got under her skin.

"Now that you have spoken, it only confirms my thoughts on you being American," Ivan chuckled as Amelia scowled. "You reek of arrogance, ignorance, and naivete...trademarks of you Americans. You were barely able to stop yourself from bursting out angrily, and going into a nonsensical rant, when my employer spoke of your still undetermined skill; you are barely holding yourself back now. You are obviously a normally loud and social person, but you're acting more reserved now, so that your personality won't cost you this job, hm?" Now he was just trying to provoke her, get some sort of reaction from her.

"So what if I am? That's got nothing to do with my skills as a hired gun, you said that yourself. Looks mean nothing. Right, big guy?" Amelia shot back, looking him straight in the eyes. _I'm not going to be intimidated by him! This guy doesn't know who he's dealing with! I'll show him...and prove myself!_

Ivan's eyes narrowed at the woman's reaction to his taunting. It wasn't his desired result, but it was interesting all the same. _She's definitely not who she says she is...I can spot The Foundation's agents easily. She's no different then that Frenchman, who still thinks I don't recognize him...It's slightly offending that he thinks so little of my memory, but what can you do? Besides, why would I waste my time with agent France when I can have a fun game with this one..._

"Ah, well, it's good that the two of you will get along." The old man clapped his hands to bring attention back to him. "Now, as a matter of fact, I do have a task for you both. One of our latest customers didn't hold up his end of the deal-"

"Yeah! The bastard never payed us!" shouted the disgruntled thugs.

"Yes, yes; calm down. Our dear client never paid for our hard work, as you just heard. I want you two to collect the payment, or, if he's not willing to pay, bring him back here and we can..._discuss _this whole matter. He will be at a successful night club called _'The Black Hole'_. Go there and try to change his mind about the payments," Mr. Mortimer explained, rising from his chair lethargically and shuffling over to the two hired guns. "Also, dress for the atmosphere...Wouldn't want you to be spotted right when you walk in." He looked them over with a critical eye.

"Understood, sir," Ivan replied blandly, mentally cursing the old man. _Why does it have to be done at a night club?_ He hated those types of places, too many people in too little a space.

"Sure thing, boss man! We got you covered on this," Amelia gave the ring leader a thousand watt smile. She figured that faking her personality had kind of gone down the drain already, so why try to keep it up?

Mr. Mortimer returned her smile. "Good, good. I sure do hope that you are successful. If you aren't, I'll miss that sunny personality. It's much more pleasant to be around than Braginski, he's much too serious," the old man joked, leaning in conspiratorially.

"Well, I'm glad this turned out so great! Is there anything else you need me for, Monsieur* Mortimer?" Francis breathed a sigh of relief. It was going well, so far.

"Ah, yes. Come, come! I need you to look over some plans..." The old man led agent France back to the small table, talking in a hushed voice.

The other smugglers dispersed to go about their own tasks, leaving Amelia and agent Russia relatively alone. Amelia took this opportunity to look the man over more closely. He didn't look so intimidating when he wasn't circling her like a starving wolf. Despite his obviously muscular build, he had a bit of a baby face, which gave him a childish look when he wasn't focused on something. He had on rather casual clothing, like herself, clearly meant to blend in with the majority of the populace. He wore a simple tan shirt and coat, worn camouflage pants that were tucked into combat boots, black leather gloves, and a faded scarf. Amelia thought that he would still look out of place on the streets among other people.

"So-" Amelia started to say something to the Russian, but was cut off when he pushed her up against a stack of crates. She winced as the corners of the crates dug into her back.

"I do not know who you are...but it will be an exciting game to find out, da?" Ivan leaned over her, whispering into her ear in a deathly soft tone. "You'd better stay on your guard, little one, or death will make an early visit to your door."

Amelia shuddered as his breath danced over her exposed neck. His hands, despite the gloves, had an unnatrual coldness to them. Actually, his whole body seemed to radiate an almost unbearable cold, making the air around him frigid. "I...don't know what the hell you're talkin' 'bout, dude. You sure need to work on your people skills, big guy!" Amelia laughed off the obvious threat and broke away from the rogue agent's strong grasp. "C'mon, don't we have a client to go get?" she asked in a challenging voice, making her way to the exit. She caught agent France's look of warning, but chose to ignore it. She could handle this.

Famous last words.

* * *

><p>Da : Yes <strong>in Russian<strong>

Monsieur : a polite **French** title for a man


	4. Fashionable Expertise

Amelia smoothed out the skimpy mini-skirt that she was currently wearing because of agent France. Francis had been so "kind" as to help the two hired guns with changing their clothes for the "night club atmosphere".

_"Oh, come now. You two clearly have no sense of style, so you obviously need my fashionable expertise. I'll start with you first, Jessica," agent France had said, flicking back his shoulder length blonde hair. Then he had dragged her into a small room that was just outside of the smugglers' meeting room._

"Tch, fashionable...yeah, right," Amelia muttered, tugging on the hot pink strapless shirt that Francis had wrestled her into. Francis had said that she looked gorgeous; Amelia thought that she looked like a hooker. "When this is all over I'm going to shove his 'fashionable expertise' where the sun doesn't shine...he'll be shitting designer clothes for a month."

Amelia turned as she heard a loud crash come from the room that Francis had cornered agent Russia in - and cornered was the perfect description. Ivan had been even less enthusiastic about the situation than Amelia. The door to the small room burst open and agent France fell out, quickly scrambling to shut the door again as agent Russia tried to force his way out. Amelia deduced from the Frenchman's broken nose that the Russian was not enjoying the experience.

"You tried to feel him up...didn't you?" Amelia asked, crossing her arms over her chest and leaning up against the opposite wall.

"I could not help it! The perfect opportunity presented itself and I, not being one to waste such a moment, took it. I couldn't ignore that a - ooph!" Francis started to plead his case, but stopped when the door was nearly forced off its hinges by Ivan's blows. The door took several more good blows before it swung open, knocking agent France to the floor.

"You...you have made a very grave mistake, comrade," Ivan ground out in a low voice.

Francis froze, seeing the clear intent to kill on the larger man's face.

"Hey, c'mon...I know the guy's a perv, but we've got a job to do. So, unfortunately, beating the hell out of Beau is gonna have to wait. I don't know about you, but I want to get out of these clothes as soon as possible," Amelia said in a friendly and joking manner, trying to defuse the situation. The American blinked when she noticed that the Russian was only half-dressed; he only had on a pair of dress pants and his boots, leaving the rest of him bare.

_Whoa...the guy's got some serious scars_, Amelia thought, gaping at the man's chest. Most of the agents she knew had scars, but nothing like agent Russia's. It was hard to find a section of his torso that didn't have even a small scar on it.

Agent Russia's eyes narrowed as he looked from Francis to Amelia. When his gaze fell on her, Amelia quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to get caught staring. The Russian smirked darkly and turned his attention back to agent France, dragging the Frenchman up by his shirt front and slamming him hard into the wall. "Da, but do not think that I am done with you, Monte. We have wasted enough time here. We're leaving," Ivan growled, quickly putting on a white button up shirt and a jacket.

The Russian pushed past the two agents, a blank expression on his face. Amelia trotted after him, giving a backwards glance over her shoulder to make sure that agent France was alright. Francis waved her off, gingerly holding his nose to try and stem the bleeding.

As the other two left the smugglers' base of operations, Francis let out a shaky breath. "Good luck, Amelia. You're going to need it, I'm afraid," he whispered to himself, knowing that he was the only one there to hear it.

* * *

><p>"Alright, so where's this club, anyway?" Amelia asked as the two hired guns exited the rundown store.<p>

"Not very far," Ivan answered, eyeing agent France's car. He dug through his jacket pocket and withdrew the car's keys.

"Hey! How'd you-"

"When I shoved him into the wall...They were in his coat pocket. Would you rather walk, American?" the Russian shrugged as he unlocked the car. He held the passenger's side door open for Amelia, a smug look on his face.

"Tch, jerk," Amelia muttered under her breath as she got into the black sports car. She slammed the car door shut before Ivan could close it himself, motioning for him to hurry up. _Damn, I really hate that stupid grin of his..._,she thought sourly.

Ivan smirked and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from an inside pocket of his jacket, taking his sweet time in lighting one. He walked purposely slow to the driver's side, exhaling smoke before getting into the vehicle.

Amelia glared at the larger man as he started up the car, smoke trailing in the air from his cigarette. "Those things are poison, y'know. Could you put that out? _I _feel like its killing me already..." Amelia coughed to accentuate her point.

Agent Russia chuckled and blew more smoke into Amelia's face, making the American gag. "Nyet*, I don't feel like it. Besides, little American, I've yet to find a poison that can kill me, but it's so very heartwarming to know that you care," he snickered, pulling the car out onto the street.

"You're such an ass, you-" Amelia started to complain, but ended up screaming as the Russian stomped on the gas pedal, sending the car flying down the road. "Slow down! Holy shit, slow down! You're going to kill us!" she screamed, barely buckling her seat belt in time.

* * *

><p>Nyet: No <strong>in Russian<strong>


	5. I Think I've Had Too Much

Amelia had never really been a religious person, but after that car ride, she was thanking whatever higher power there was that had saved her. The American stumbled out of the car once it came to a screeching halt, taking a few minutes to regain her composure before looking at her new surroundings.

_Wow...this place is...um...very goth? Seriously, who would want to make a building look like that?_ Amelia wondered as she took in the night club. Its exterior was very modern, and looked like the villain's headquarters out of some sci-fi movie. The entire building was painted black, and it didn't appear to have any windows. Through the open door, Amelia could see lights flashing and could hear terrible club music being blasted.

"Are you ready to go in yet, little American? Or do you still need some recovery time, hmm?" Ivan asked in a mocking tone, coming up behind Amelia.

"Shit, man! Ever hear of personal space?!" Amelia exclaimed, jumping in surprise. She hadn't even heard him until he spoke. "And no, I don't need recovery time, jack ass!" she retorted, sticking her tongue out at the Russian childishly. After all, he didn't need to know that she had been scared for her life during the whole drive over.

Ivan frowned slightly. He had been hoping that she would need more time to collect herself. He wanted to put off going into the club for as long as possible. "Then why don't you go in already? We don't have all night, _Jessica_," he growled, stressing her fake name in the hopes of flustering her a little bit.

"Jeez, alright already. Keep your pants on...," Amelia muttered, adjusting her skirt again and heading into the club.

The club was filled with all sorts of people in various stages of inebriation. There were a good number of people dancing, while others did their own thing. Music blasted at ear bleeding volumes and lights flashed at sickening speeds.

Amelia blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden change in light. Once she could see properly, Amelia headed to a nearly vacant part of the building. She turned to agent Russia, carefully watching the crowd of people jammed in the room. "So, how do you want to handle this?" she half shouted so that he could actually hear her over the loud music.

"I thought it was obvious, little American. Our target is more than likely drunk, and will be easy to approach. You will use your...," Here Ivan gestured at Amelia's body, "Your feminine charms, da? That should work well enough, but if he doesn't fall for it and you need my help...I'll be close by. He's also American, so you should be able to do this yourself," he answered matter-of-factually.

Amelia cocked an eyebrow at the larger man. "The hell does that mean?" she demanded.

"You Americans have terrible taste in women," Ivan stated blandly, already getting annoyed with his current situation.

Amelia could feel her eye twitch. _Did he just call me a slut? He did, didn't he?! That son of a commie just called me a slut! _"So...where is this 'beloved' client anyhow?" she forced out, trying to keep her cool. _No...no, you can't punch him in the nuts, Melie. C'mon, you got this. Just calm down...Think good thoughts, think good thoughts...like smashing that bastard's stupid face in... Damn it!_

Agent Russia gestured toward a young man dancing - or more like stumbling - with a few other girls who were dressed similar to Amelia.

"Fine...I'll have this mission wrapped up in a few, so don't get too comfortable. Got it?" Amelia said confidently, heading over to the intoxicated target.

_That won't be a problem..._, Ivan thought dismally.

As Amelia passed agent Russia, she stepped on his foot, grinning when she heard him swear. _Thank you, Francis, for picking out high heels! Ha, payback!_ She did a mental victory dance. As she neared the target, Amelia turned her confident walk into more of a drunken stumble. Ivan watched with a grudging interest; curious, despite himself, as to how the American would capture their target.

The drunk man took quick notice of Amelia, his alcohol clogged mind registering her as a prime victim for a little fun later on. "Hey thar, hot stuff...How'd ya like to spend the night with me? I'll make it worth your while," he slurred out in what he thought was a completely sexy voice.

Amelia sidled up next to the man, giving a sloppy grin. "Only if you buy me a drink first," she replied, winking at the target and giggling drunkenly.

The man licked his lips as he looked over Amelia's body, clearly liking what he saw. He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her through the crowd of undulating bodies to the bar.

Ivan had already understood what the American was doing, and had headed over there as well. It was a simple thing, really. Get the target to order a drink, distract him long enough to put a drug into his drink to induce sleep, then move the target out of the establishment on the pretense that the target had drank too much and had merely passed out. It was simple, but it worked. _Whatever gets us out of here...How people can stand to be around one another in such close proximity and for such a long period of time I'll never understand_, the Russian thought as he watched the other people dance.

While the target ordered their drinks, Amelia glanced around for agent Russia. She knew she wouldn't need his help, but she wasn't about to let him out of her sights. When the Russian had used her fake name, Jessica, she could've sworn that he had known it was a cover, so it was best to watch him carefully. She nearly jumped when she noticed that he was practically right next to her, amethyst eyes fixed on the shot glass in front of him.

_Pfft, that figures. This guy is such a freaking stereotype...That's probably vodka or somethin'_._ Damn, I could really go for some Micky D's right now...I am _**starving**_! _Amelia shook her head at the thought.

"Here ya go, babe," the target said as he placed a very fancy looking drink in front of the American.

Amelia snapped out of her thoughts and immediately went into action. "Like, thanks...you're such a nice guy. Especially since you're gonna let me stay at your place for the night. You said you'd make it worth my while...so you totally better!" Amelia giggled, leaning into the man, really turning on the "dumb blonde".

As she expected, the man made his move and sloppily pulled her into a kiss. Amelia bit back the feeling to deck the guy, and let him kiss her. She had already snuck out a tranquilizer tablet from the flashy cheetah print jacket she was wearing, and dropped it into the man's drink. It quickly dissolved, leaving no trace of it ever having been slipped in.

After several more seconds, the man pulled back for air. He eyed Amelia lustfully, downing his whiskey in one go. He made an uncoordinated grab for Amelia, succeeding in catching onto the back of her jacket. Unfortunately, the drug started to take effect - not to mention the amount of alcohol he had ingested - and he lost his balance, falling backwards.

Amelia gasped as she was dragged down with the drunk man. Out of natural instinct and reflexes, Amelia tried to keep herself from falling by grabbing onto something. That something just happened to be agent Russia. Ivan was caught off guard by the sudden weight of two people dragging on him, and lost his balance as well, sending the three crashing to the sticky club floor.

Amelia winced as her head smacked onto the floor, screwing her eyes shut as her vision danced.

"There are much better ways to get my attention, American. What are you doing?" a cold Russian voice hissed at Amelia, making her eyes fly open in surprise. Ivan was, more or less, right on top of Amelia; his arms braced against the floor to keep them from actually touching, and the lower half of his body was to her right side.

"I didn't mean to do that! Why would I want to fall on my ass?!" Amelia retorted indignantly.

"Hey! That's my girl!" an angry shout brought the two agents from their argument.

Their target had managed to stumble to his feet, and, once seeing their current position, became angered. He had drawn a hand gun and unsteadily aimed it at agent Russia, and fired. Ivan tried to maneuver out of the way, but his current position impeded his movement. The shot struck him in the shoulder.

Once the shot was fired, there was mass hysteria in the club; people screaming and running, trampling over one another to escape. Amelia rolled off to the side to avoid getting run over by the panicked crowd. She swore at not being able to carry a gun with her because of her outfit, but she could still get up close to the target to physically subdue him. He appeared to not see her at the moment, being more focused on agent Russia.

Ivan had used the retreating crowd of people as cover, putting some distance between himself and the target. He overturned a table and crouched behind it, pulling out his own gun and returning fire. He ignored the pain radiating from his left shoulder, and continued to distract the man, waiting for Amelia to make her move. _It's unfortunate that we have to take him alive...I'll have to pay him back later._

Amelia crawled along the floor, staying as close to the bar counter as possible. She waited for the target to shift his aim to the other end of the room, then she lunged at him, easily tackling him to the ground. She quickly wrenched the gun from his limp hand and scrambled to her feet. The drug had finally done its job; the man was unconscious.

Amelia sighed. "Well...that could have gone better...," she muttered.

"Da, it could have. Unfortunately, we do not have the time to examine your poor performance. The police will be here soon, so we need to leave," Ivan growled as he walked over to Amelia. He gave her an annoyed look before hauling their target up off the ground and slinging him over his shoulder. He inhaled sharply as his injured shoulder protested the movement.

This didn't go unnoticed by Amelia. Her eyes narrowed as she saw blood staining his shirt and jacket. "I'll ignore that insult for now...Only 'cause I don't want to go to prison any time soon. C'mon, I'll drive," she said, hurrying out of the club's back door, Ivan following her closely.

The two quickly put the unconscious man in the back of the car, and then got in themselves. Amelia immediately started the car and drove off. Amelia gripped the steering wheel tightly, trying to suppress the adrenaline coursing through her. She glanced at agent Russia for a moment, seeing him stick his thumb and index finger into his shoulder wound. He grimaced as he searched for the bullet, his breath hissing out between clenched teeth as he withdrew the small object.

Amelia turned her attention back to the road as she tried to remember the way back to the smugglers' base, also trying to ignore the smell of blood. _Well, at least we got the guy...I guess. Hopefully, I'll be able to wrap this up soon_, she thought as she took a turn onto a deserted street. The sound of police sirens cried behind them, echoing in the empty night.


	6. Change of Plans

Agent France looked up from some paper work as he heard the back door to the smugglers' base creak open and then slam shut. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Amelia's loud voice from the other room.

"My fault?! How's it my fault you got shot?! I think you're just a big, slow target!" an American voice boomed in outrage.

_Well, at least she's alive..._,Francis mused.

"Da, and you falling down was all part of your plan. Honestly, if you weren't so clumsy, the job would have gone fine," an equally annoyed Russian voice retorted.

"That wasn't what happened and you know it, commie!" Amelia screeched as she stomped into the room.

"Commie...really? You're that uncreative?" agent Russia scoffed, hot on the American's heels. "You can't even admit to your own blunder! You are deluded, aren't you?"

Amelia whirled around to face the Russian, her face flushed with anger. "Shut up! Why don't you just admit that you aren't all that great? Plus, I would've carried out the mission perfectly if you hadn't been breathing down my neck like some stupid bear!" she yelled, jabbing a finger into Ivan's chest accusingly.

"Ah, excuse me...," Francis tried to get the attention of the two arguing agents, but was thoroughly ignored.

"What was that, American? From where I was standing, you were doing a pretty poor job all by yourself. You were just lucky I was there, and that the target wasn't a very dangerous one," Ivan sneered, eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly.

"Alright, that's it! You're asking for a beating! Come on, let's go!" Amelia challenged, stepping closer to agent Russia. _Screw the mission for right now! This ass is gonna get kicked! What's this guy's problem, anyway?_

Ivan blinked at the American's challenge. _She can't be serious...Did The Foundation not inform her properly? Even with this wound, I could take her out easily. Yet...I have to admire her bravery...or is it stupidity? _"Nyet, I wouldn't want to hurt the little American, now would I?" He gave her a smug grin and patted her head like a child.

That did it. Amelia grabbed his wrist, and was going to twist his arm around his back, if not for Ivan foreseeing her reaction. As she moved to get behind him, Ivan nonchalantly tripped her up, sending the American crashing to the floor. Faster than Amelia could react, Ivan had already pinned her to the floor, leaving her unable to move. She let out a frustrated cry and squirmed around, trying to get free of the Russian's hold.

"Is Jessica already tired of playing?" Ivan asked in a childish voice unbefitting of his size and age. "That is too bad...we haven't even gotten that far into the game," he whispered into her ear.

Amelia shivered involuntarily, his tone holding an unvoiced threat. _This guy's got a few loose screws..._, she thought as she continued to struggle.

"Would you two stop acting like children? I have no patience for tomfoolery...you are aware of this, Braginski," Mr. Mortimer huffed from his corner of the room. "You were able to escort our client here, yes?"

Agent Russia quickly released Amelia, his face going blank of emotion. "Of course, sir. He's in the other room. Shall I interrogate him now, or later?" he asked in a rather casual tone.

Amelia scrambled to her feet, glaring at the larger man.

"Hmm, no, not now. It can wait until you've gotten yourself fixed up. I'll call for you when our client wakes up," the old man answered, waving a dismissive hand at the Russian.

Ivan gave a stiff nod, his eyes narrowing again. He turned on his heel and left the room, glancing over his shoulder at the still smoldering Amelia.

"You, Jessica, you're hired," Mr. Mortimer said in a cheerful tone, giving her a big smile.

"Wait...wha? But I-"

"Oh, you've done well enough for me. Anyone who can get under Braginski's skin and live is certainly something special. He may act like a good soldier boy most of the time, but he has problems with learning his place. It's high time that stubborn fool figured out he's nothing more than an attack dog. But, you'll be able to keep him in line, I think," the old ring leader chuckled, keeping up his deceptively warm smile.

Amelia gave a halting nod, not really expecting that from the old man. She headed over to agent France, who was waving her over. "What's up, Frenchie? Got somethin' for me?" she asked in a forced peppy tone. What the ring leader had said really unsettled her.

"Oui. Arthur contacted me not too long ago, saying the Commissioner wants an update as soon as possible," Francis replied in a hushed voice.

"Well, duh. That's kinda standard procedure, isn't it?" Amelia said, crossing her arms.

"Oui. Well...there is something else. The mission has changed somewhat. You are to only keep a visual on agent Russia...not detain him and bring him back to The Foundation as originally stated in your briefing. Apparently, the Commissioner has not yet gotten a confirmation from the government on what to do with him," the Frenchman continued.

Amelia gave a sigh. _Of course. When will I get the chance to do a real mission? _"Alright, whatever. I'll do that," Amelia muttered. She was about to turn and head off after agent Russia when she stopped herself and turned back to Francis. "Hey, Frenchie, tell Iggy I'm doin' awesome, will ya?" she asked in a hopeful voice.

Francis gave a small smile. "Of course, but you know he would rather hear it from you, not me. I'll pass it on none the less," he replied.

Amelia grinned and winked at the Frenchman before trotting from the room.


	7. Light in the Blizzard

_"What's wrong with you, boy?! I told you to shoot!" a salt and pepper haired man yelled, smacking the young boy in front of him._

_The seven-year-old stumbled a bit from the blow, but remained standing. The boy avoided the man's piercing stare and mumbled something._

_"Look at me when you speak. And I thought I told you to stop mumbling like that," the man growled._

_The boy huffed, his breath coming out in a frosty cloud. He raised his amethyst eyes to meet icy blue ones. "He looked scared...," the boy said, his eyes flicking to the corpse not too far off._

_The man cocked an eyebrow at the boy. "He didn't look very frightened when he shot at you," he pointed out._

_The boy faltered for a moment, clutching at his freshly bandaged shoulder. The wound seemed to throb at being mentioned. "No...," he whispered._

_"This is exactly why you need to discard your emotions, Ivan. People will take advantage of you if you show sympathy or mercy. People, especially like those we deal with, will do anything to save their own pathetic skins," the man said, looking up at the dark sky. It was starting to snow._

_"Even you, Niki? Would you do whatever you could to save yourself?" the boy asked in a purely curious manner, like only a child could._

_The man glanced down at the boy. "You ask the strangest questions for a child...but, then again, you aren't like the others, are you?" he muttered to himself. "I think that, when my time comes, I will accept it. So long as I serve my purpose, I will have no regrets," he answered._

_The boy blinked, and glanced back at the corpse. "What's it like? To fear something so powerful, like death, that you would do anything you could to save yourself from it...," the boy asked in a low voice._

_"You've nothing that you fear like that?" the man countered with his own question._

_"No," the boy answered simply, not even looking at the man._

_The man watched the boy silently for a moment before answering. "I can't answer that. I've never found myself in such a situation," he replied._

_"Oh...Do the other agents fear you, Niki?" the boy asked, scuffing his boot toe against the cracked pavement hidden under the snow._

_"Again with the strange questions, boy. You seem intent on freezing yourself out here trying to find the secrets of life," the man sighed in exasperation. _**He's definitely **_**her **_**son, that I'm sure of. No one else is as annoyingly curious about the world as that woman. And the eyes...they're exactly the same**_, the man thought._

_"The other agents give me the respect that I have incurred from my many successful missions. Nothing more, nothing less. If they are daunted in any way, that is of no concern to me," he finally answered._

_"The others at The Foundation are afraid of me...I can see it in their eyes whenever they're around me. Even the older agents, like agent China, all avoid me when they can. It doesn't bother me other than the fact that I don't know why...Why do they fear me?" the boy muttered in an irritated voice._

_The man went silent again. He kept himself from trying to comfort the child, he had strict orders to not get too involved with the boy. Any interference with the boy's mental state could ruin the experiment, and he didn't want to get on the Commissioner's bad side._

_"It doesn't really matter...There's nothing wrong with being alone, right?" His amethyst eyes turned back to the icy blue ones._

_"There is absolutely nothing wrong with solitude. I prefer to be by myself most of the time. You are not being trained to make friends, Ivan, you are being trained to kill. There's nothing more to say about it. You have no say in the matter. Your life is not your own, and it never will be. It is the same for all the other agents as well. Friends are only enemies that you allow too close," the man replied sternly._

_"How am I supposed to ignore them, though? I know what I'm being trained to do...but-"_

_"But nothing, boy! You want to know how to deal with killing over and over again?" the man spat, getting irritated. He was frustrated at himself for allowing The Foundation access to this boy when he had promised the boy's mother that he wouldn't. He had been able to secret away the boy's two sisters, but The Foundation had found out about his activities before he could get Ivan out. Now he was being forced to destroy this boy's life without him even knowing._

_The child nodded slowly, wary of the man's temper._

_"You have to ignore every part of you that's human." The man grabbed the boy by the back of the neck, and forced him face-to-face with the corpse. "Do you see that? No emotion. That's what you have to become: the living dead. You feel nothing, follow orders, and give no mercy. You kill until you are killed. Do you understand, Ivan?" he growled._

_"Yes, agent Winter," the boy replied in a bland voice. His amethyst eyes staring into the glassy ones of the dead man._

Agent Russia threw the tin of medical supplies at the wall in a sudden burst of anger. This was one of his most hated memories of The Foundation, but he could never seem to block it out. He had done as he was told, as he was expected to, and buried his humanity deep inside himself. They said it would make his job easier to do, and he believed them. He had been able to do any mission flawlessly for years, until the nightmares had started.

He would see the thousands that he had killed or tortured in his dreams, and they would do to him exactly as he had done to them. He felt every bullet, every dagger, every pain he had inflicted upon them. It was unbearable, but he could never wake up during one of these episodes. When he finally did wake, it was in a cold sweat, and he would feel more fatigued than when he fell asleep. The advice of agent Winter and The Foundation didn't suffice any more, he couldn't get what he saw out of his head.

Ivan slammed a clenched fist into the wall closest to him in futile anger, gasping as pain shot through his injured shoulder. Everything The Foundation did was wrong, and yet he had gone along with it mindlessly until it broke him. He hated himself for believing The Foundation's lies. He sighed, letting his forehead rest against the wall.

"You trying to move that wall with your mind or something?" a peppy American voice joked from the doorway.

Agent Russia tensed, not used to being caught off guard. "Or something," he hummed, not turning to face the American.

"You're such a strange guy, you know that?" Amelia said, leaning up against the door frame.

"That is the general consensus, but I don't mind," he replied, studying a crack in the white paint of the wall.

"Why not? I'd care about something like that. Wouldn't want people to think I was crazy. Nobody would want to be around me then." Amelia watched as the Russian's head jerked to the side, amethyst eyes looking at her with barely hidden agitation.

Ivan finally turned to face Amelia, a crooked grin on his face. "Because insanity gives me an excuse for what I do. What's wrong with being alone?" The words seemed to echo hollowly for him, once again reminding him of that time. The practiced grin fell from his face, and he unconsciously clutched at his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay? Need some help with that?" Amelia asked, seeing the flash of pain on the larger man's face.

"No," he snapped, putting more distance between them.

"Would you stop being a stubborn ass for one second? Just let me help you," Amelia said, locking eyes with the Russian.

Ivan searched the other's face for signs of ill will, but found the opposite. _Why is she showing me any sympathy? We're on opposing sides...enemies...The Foundation must be trying a different tactic. This has to be a trick of some sort..._, he thought, trying to figure out her plan.

Amelia broke off eye contact and knelt down to pick up the scattered medical supplies from the floor. She could feel agent Russia's gaze on her, but it didn't seem to hold any malice. "Come on, it'll be easier if I do it. Don't you trust me a bit after I saved your commie ass from getting shot even more?" she smirked, retrieving the items that she would need.

Ivan blinked, pulled from his thoughts by Amelia's voice. "You saved me? And where was I when this happened? I certainly don't remember you doing anything of the sort," he said, taking his hand away from the wound in his shoulder, staring at the splash of red on his palm.

Amelia got back to her feet, having found what she needed, and walked over to the Russian. "'Course I did! Don't tell me you missed my heroic tackle?" she asked, giving him a slightly offended look.

He gave her an unimpressed look. "I'm afraid I was otherwise engaged. After you nearly botched the mission by-"

"Not this again!" Amelia exclaimed. "That was an accident!" she pouted, flicking his forehead with her index finger.

Ivan decided to let that action slide. "Accident or not, it almost got out of hand. You should really be more aware of your surroundings, especially if you're going to work with me from now on. One day, you'll get yourself into a situation that you won't be able to get out of," he said, wiping blood off onto his pants.

"Yeah, maybe, but you'll be there to be my decoy again, so everything'll work out fine. Take your shirt off," Amelia ordered, fumbling with some of the supplies in her hands.

Ivan did as he was told, gingerly removing the bloodstained garment.

Silence filled the room as Amelia started to work on bandaging the gunshot wound. She couldn't help but notice the Russian's scars again, her eyes lingering on the ragged ones encircling his neck.

Ivan noticed her eyes flicking back and forth from her task to his scars. "It's rude to stare, American," he muttered, not enjoying her scrutiny.

Amelia felt her face heat up in embarrassment at being caught staring. "I was not!" she blurted out, trying to keep her eyes focused on his shoulder while hiding her embarrassment. She quickly finished up the wrapping, securing it in place with some medical tape. "There, you jerk! I hope it hurts like a bastard!"

Ivan was about to say a rare thank you when there was a light knock on the door. Agent France entered, a serious look on his face. That look instantly dissolved into something more cheerful at seeing Amelia's red face.

"Oho! Am I interrupting something here? I wouldn't want to get in the way of L'amour," he laughed, in an oh so French way.

"Stop speaking that fruit cake language, pervert! There's nothing going on here!" Amelia yelled, her face turning a deeper shade of red.

"Oh, you say that now, but...," Francis trailed off, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Are you fucking serious?! Him?! No way!" Amelia retorted, gesturing wildly at a slightly confused Ivan.

"Well, you never know, mon cher. Love can be found in the least likely places," Francis said, dancing away from Amelia's punches.

"Ah...Is there a reason that you are here, Monte?" Ivan asked, finally catching on to what was being insinuated. "Aside from irritating the American, of course."

"Oh, oui. Our client has regained consciousness, and Mr. Mortimer would like to get the interrogation started as soon as possible," he explained, managing to evade Amelia's blows.

"Yeah, yeah; that's great. Just stand still so that I can hit you, Frenchie!" Amelia growled.

"He wants it done now, Braginski," Francis added.

"Of course...It won't take that long," Ivan said, pulling his shirt back on and hastily leaving the room. It was starting to feel uncomfortable in the small room.

Amelia quickly followed him, grumbling something about annoying Frenchmen.

Francis grinned to himself. _Did I see what I think I saw? Were his ears red? And it's obvious with Amelia; she wears her emotions sloppily on her face, like a puppy. Ah, young love is so beautiful! All I have to do is help them along the way, ohonhonhon!_


	8. The Gateway to Freedom

Amelia could feel agent France's eyes on her. _When is he going to stop looking at me like that?! It's like he expects me to jump that stupid bear any second now! I have _**way **_better taste than that! Besides, this is a serious mission...we need to focus on it. _"I swear, if you don't stop giving me those lovey-dovey, sappy 'You've just found your true love' eyes...I'm going to pound your face in. It's too bad your nose is already broken, 'cause if it wasn't...," Amelia whispered in a threatening tone, pushing her glasses further up on her nose.

"But, mon cher, I was not even looking at you! I think you are just imagining things," Francis cried, a smirk on his face. _Oh, this is just too easy! _"Really, I think you should be focusing more on the...job, non*?"

Amelia felt her jaw drop open. _Whaaaaaa? B-But...that's what I was thinking! _"Damn it, Frenchie! I was gonna say that! What're you, a frickin' mind reader?!" she burst out, pointing an accusing finger at the Frenchman.

"Well, when one is as easy to read as you...," Francis trailed off in a joking manner, his eyes sparkling mischievously.

"You - I'm gonna...Pain! Lots of pain!" Amelia yelled, her eye twitching as agent France waved her into the main room.

"Yes, yes. You will pound my historically beautiful face in. I am aware. Why don't you save some of that pent-up sexual tension for the interrogation? That is, if the Russian needs your assistance, which I highly doubt. No one lasts very long when he's in charge of interrogations, so now might be a good time to ask around for his off duty location. One of the other smugglers might know where he lives," Francis said, nudging her towards Mr. Mortimer. "He's always a good place to start. He's the one that contacts agent Russia when he's needed, so he probably has some information."

"Really? The old guy? That's kinda funny...I got the sense that they don't really get along. You'd think that they'd want as little to do with each other as possible," Amelia wondered out loud, watching the ring leader speak with agent Russia.

Now, Amelia might not be able to "read the mood" very well, as agent Japan said, but she could see the obvious disliking that the two held for one another. Mr. Mortimer seemed to acquire a constant scowl when in the Russian's presence, while agent Russia looked like he wanted to disembowel the older man with his bare hands.

"Ah...yes. They do have quite the interesting way of interacting with one another, don't they? I hear that it is mainly because Mr. Mortimer doesn't enjoy the fact that someone so young, as when agent Russia joined them, was so talented. I suppose you could call it jealousy," Francis speculated, giving a small shrug of his shoulders.

"How old was he when he joined?" Amelia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Francis was silent for a moment, his hand rubbing his stubbled chin in thought. "Well...The Foundation lost track of him after a couple of months once he defected, so we don't know for sure. We estimate it to be at least a year or two after his desertion. So, that would make him fourteen or fifteen, I believe," he answered slowly, tapping his index finger against his bottom lip.

"Seriously? So...he defected from The Foundation when he was thirteen? That's...I don't even know what to call that," Amelia replied, shaking her head in amazement.

"Oui, it is quite an incredible feat for a child. I still can't comprehend how he made it past all of those agents and security. He must have been desperate to get out," Francis murmured, a thoughtful expression still on his face.

_Why would he want to get out, though? From what I've heard, he was The Foundation's best agent...Why would he turn his back on that, just to end up here? It doesn't add up_, Amelia wondered, keeping her eyes on the Russian. She couldn't hear the conversation between agent Russia and the ring leader, but she had a feeling that Mr. Mortimer was not happy.

The old man was making some angry gestures at a small radio set, eyes blazing with obvious fury. His wrinkled face contorted into a snarl as he quietly argued with the Russian. Mr. Mortimer turned his back on Ivan, waving a dismissive hand at the younger man. Agent Russia's left hand twitched in annoyance at the older man's dismissal, but he kept himself in check. He turned on his heel and stormed away from the ring leader, his amethyst eyes seething with anger and hatred.

Amelia and Francis quickly got out of agent Russia's way as he exited the room.

"What do you think that was about?" Amelia asked in a low voice.

"Nothing good...," agent France muttered. "Go over and get what you can from Mr. Mortimer, but do so very carefully. We don't need any further problems to complicate things," he said, giving Amelia a reassuring pat on the arm.

Amelia nodded, and carefully approached the old ring leader. "Something wrong, boss man?" she asked in a cheerfully concerned voice, trying to sound as sincere as possible.

"Ah, Jessica...It's a minor setback on account of Braginski's arrogance, I'm afraid. Apparently, he thought he could get away with his sloppy performance tonight, and didn't think about the police force following him back here. We'll need to be moving out of here very soon, but he'll have just enough time to redeem himself by getting my money from our...client," Mr. Mortimer growled, his bony right hand lethargically massaging his left.

"Oh...Well, that's probably more my fault than his. I got a little lost on the way back," Amelia admitted hesitantly.

"But you are relatively new to this, he is not. It matters little, though, so long as we get our payment," the old man reasoned, waving off her comment.

"Well...can I change the subject a little bit? I wanted to ask you something," Amelia said, casting a quick glance around the empty room. Everything had been removed; boxes, crates, and smugglers, all gone. The eerie silence in the place, along with the low lighting, reminded Amelia of a hospital at night.

"Hmm...of course. What would you like to know?" Mr. Mortimer inquired, a strange glint in his aged eyes.

"Since I'm going to be working with you from now on, I wanted to know more about Braginski. Anything you can tell me would be helpful. I like to know as much as possible about my partners. Knowing the person that's guarding your back is always a good thing," Amelia asked, watching the ring leader carefully._ There's something off about this..._

Mr. Mortimer scratched his chin absentmindedly. "That's plausible," he murmured. "I'm afraid I can't impart much information to you, though. He came to our base of operations...oh, about nine years ago. He seemed to know of us, so I had my suspicions about him, but then he demonstrated his skills for me. I knew then that I would be a fool to let him get away. He could kill an entire building full of people without drawing any attention, and his experience in torturing was an added bonus," he answered, an edge of jealousy slipping into his tone as he spoke.

Amelia shuddered at the almost crazed look in the ring leader's eyes. _Jeez, who isn't crazy around here?_

"Cold, my dear? It has gotten a touch chilly," Mr. Mortimer stated, a calculating gleam replacing the one of madness.

"Uh, yeah...a little bit," Amelia replied hesitantly. _This guy's up to something..._

The old man bobbed his head slightly, still watching her like a hawk. "Come with me, if you would, please. I have something that you simply must see...Especially if you are to continue working with Braginski," he said in an excited voice, beckoning to the American with his gnarled hand.

Amelia nodded silently, a bad feeling sinking into her stomach. She followed after the surprisingly fast Mr. Mortimer, their footsteps echoing in the abandoned building, making them sound impossibly loud in Amelia's ears. The two approached a closed door that looked like it had seen better days; blood was smeared on its doorknob, and in small trails on its surface. Mr. Mortimer was just about to turn the bloody doorknob when a heart-stopping scream split through the silence.

"Hm, I do hope we're not too late. Though, what's left might be enough to get my point across," Mr. Mortimer thought out loud, opening the door.

Amelia almost choked on her question when she saw what was in the room.

The man that she had helped to capture was tied to a metal chair, screaming like a banshee. And for good reason. He was missing all of the fingers on his left hand, leaving nothing but small, bloody stumps. Some of his teeth had been knocked out, and his right eye had been torn out; the wound leaving a river of bloody tears on the man's face.

"Ah, I see you've been having a little fun with your new chew toy, Braginski. My, my, my...I can only imagine what _that _feels like," Mr. Mortimer said in a mocking tone, a predatory smile on his wrinkled face.

Agent Russia didn't turn to face the newcomers, keeping his back to them as he worked at a small metal counter. "He has told me that his money is kept in an offshore account...very hard to get to. He was also foolish enough to mention that we wouldn't be able to get into it on account of the safe having some sort of retina scanner," he drawled in a dull voice, turning away from whatever he had been doing at the counter.

"I see you've relieved him of that concern...," Mr. Mortimer said, moving from his place at the door to the counter. He picked up a small container, inspecting its contents thoughtfully.

Amelia felt her mouth go dry when she saw that it was the man's eye._ This is so...so wrong! _She worked her mouth, but no sound came from her.

"Don't worry, Jessica, you'll never have to do something as dirty as this. No, we leave that to Braginski," Mr. Mortimer assured her in a matter-of-fact tone, noticing the look on her face. He turned his attention to agent Russia. "We have all we need...finish the job. Kill him," he ordered.

The man stopped his wailing, turning his head to try and see them. "No, no, no...please don't! Take all the money you want, I'll give you anything! I-I'll never say a word of what happened! Please...please, oh, God...please don't," the man begged, tears flowing freely from his one remaining eye. He squirmed in the metal chair, whimpering and pleading for his life.

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, the only thing that will guarantee your silence...is death. It is highly unfortunate, and I take no pleasure in it, I assure you, but it is the only way. Besides, don't you want to be freed from your pain? Death is the gateway to freedom," Mr. Mortimer replied in a consoling voice, pocketing the container holding the man's eye. He looked over at agent Russia, giving a slight nod of the head.

Ivan retrieved his gun from the counter top, aiming it at the side of the man's head. The man merely whimpered as he felt the cold metal of the gun's muzzle against his skull, clenching his usable hand in anticipation.

Amelia flinched as the gun went off, the man going limp in the metal chair as a spray of blood coated the floor and wall. Her gaze was met with the void gaze of the dead man's, leaving her paralyzed. This was not what she had been expecting. She was used to The Foundation's methods of interrogation, which didn't include torture.

"What a pity," Mr. Mortimer said, clearly lying through his teeth. "I want the two of you out of here in five minutes. There's no time to get rid of the body, so just leave it here. We've left no evidence, so they can't trace it back to us." The ring leader didn't wait for any confirmations, quickly making his leave.

As he passed Amelia, he whispered, "Now you know that the one guarding your back is nothing more than an attack dog, as I said before. I wouldn't rely on him to save you if you get yourself into trouble. He has no compassion and gives no mercy, not even to an ally. He merely obeys the orders of the one holding his leash...which is myself, and _only _me. Don't forget what you've seen here, not that I think you could, even if you wanted to."

Amelia gave no response, her mind couldn't formulate one.

Agent Russia closed the man's eye, muttering something in Russian. He looked up from the man's corpse, noticing that Amelia was still in the room. "...We should move out, American."

Nothing. She continued to stare at the corpse.

Something clicked in Ivan's head as he watched for any signs of Amelia moving. _She's never actually seen another person die before...The Foundation mustn't have given her very many serious missions before this. _He returned his gun to its holster in his jacket and wiped his hands free of blood.

Amelia didn't even resist when he placed a firm hand on her shoulder and walked her out of the building.

* * *

><p>Non: No <strong>in French<strong>


	9. Strike of Midnight

Amelia jolted awake from the nightmare that she had been having, falling roughly to the ground. _Ugh...that was a freaky dream...but at least it was just a dream. Wait - where the hell am I?! _Amelia was fully awake now, glancing around the room she was in.

It was a small room with bare, white walls and dull, thin carpeting. There was hardly any furniture in the place that Amelia could see; aside from the old leather sofa she had just fallen off of, an equally dilapidated chair, and a small television that was covered in a fairly thick layer of dust.

Amelia pulled herself back onto the leather sofa, still looking around at her surroundings in a confused manner. _Oookay...how'd I get here? Wherever here is..._ She took out her phone, which was supposed to be used only in emergencies or to make progress updates, and looked at the built-in clock. _Twelve? I didn't think it was that late already..._ She got up from the sofa and crossed the small room to one of the covered windows, pulling back the blind to confirm the time. Sure enough, it was dark outside.

Amelia retreated from the window and began pacing. "Okay...so, the last thing I remember happening was that psycho old guy showing me..._that_." She shuddered slightly. She could still see the dead man's eyes clearly in her mind. "And now I'm here...Major memory gap goin' on here. How the hell did I get from _there _to _here_!" Amelia huffed in frustration.

"You passed out and I had to drive you here. Which was rather difficult on account of you flailing around so much," a now familiar Russian voice clarified from behind Amelia.

Amelia yelped in surprise and whirled around, punching said Russian in the nose out of reflex. Ivan fell backwards, hitting the floor with a heavy thud.

"What is it with people and sneaking up on me?! Where the hell did you bring me?!" Amelia demanded, inching away from the man who was now cursing profusely in Russian.

_This is the second time in _**one night **_that I have ended up flat on my back because of this woman..._, Ivan seethed as he got into a sitting position, a hand held up to his nose. "Maybe you shouldn't be taken so easily by surprise," he hissed.

"Maybe _you_ should learn about _personal space_," Amelia shot back, sapphire eyes blazing indignantly.

"Maybe_ you _need to _pay more attention _to your surroundings," Ivan retorted, getting to his feet.

"Maybe _you_ shouldn't _kidnap_ people!" Amelia yelled, stepping forward angrily.

"I didn't kidnap you! You passed out before we could leave and I couldn't just leave you there!" Ivan snapped, running a hand through his hair in exasperation. "Would you have prefered me leaving you alone with a corpse for the police to find?"

Amelia stopped mid-insult. "Well...when you put it like that...I guess it's not _really_ kidnapping," she muttered, not wanting to admit that she was kind of wrong. "Hey! You still haven't answered my other question!" she exclaimed, giving the Russian a disgruntled look.

"Hm?" Ivan gave her a questioning glance, not completely registering the subject change.

"Where the hell am I, commie? Jeez," Amelia repeated, rolling her eyes.

Ivan went silent for a while, trying to think of a way to phrase his answer. This place had been a safe house for The Foundation's uses, but had been abandoned when more people came to the area. "It's a place where we won't be found easily. Safe from the police," he answered slowly.

"Oh...okay." Amelia crossed her arms in a thoughtful manner, face scrunched up in concentration. "Why _didn't _you just leave me? I mean, it's great that you didn't, but still," Amelia asked, now looking at the room with curiosity.

Ivan groaned, rubbing his face agitatedly. "Does it really matter? You are free to leave if you so wish," he replied, knowing she probably wouldn't leave. No, The Foundation sent her here to track him. She wouldn't leave when in such a good position.

"Naw, I think I'll just hunker down here for a while," Amelia said in a casual, somewhat distracted way. _There's no _**way**_ I'm leaving! I hit the jackpot here! Now, all I gotta do is wait him out 'til he's asleep and then call in to HQ. Iggy's gonna totally freak when he hears how awesome I'm doin'! _She grinned at the thought.

Ivan smirked, but inwardly cursed. _Well, sleep's completely out of the question tonight...Not that I was likely to get any to begin with, but now I have to keep a close eye on her. She's bound to try and contact The Foundation at some point. I just need to delay that for as long as possible_, he planned, watching as a grin spread across the American's face.

"So, big guy, got anything to eat around here? I'm starving!" Amelia exclaimed, feeling her stomach begin to burn with hunger.

Ivan blinked. _She's...hungry?_ "Um...," he struggled to answer. _Do I have anything here? I can't remember when I last ate here..._

"No worries, I'll just help myself to whatever, 'kay?" Amelia said before the Russian could even formulate an answer. She didn't really care what there was to choose from, just so long as it took the edge off. Amelia trotted into the room she guessed was the kitchen.

Ivan stared after her. "Go ahead...," he mumbled. He shook his head in disbelief at her attitude, and how quick she was to change it in the same situation. _She's definitely interesting, but I can't let my guard down. The fact that she's so different from the other agents they've sent after me just makes her more dangerous_, he reminded himself.

"Hey, do ya want anyfing?" Amelia asked through a mouthful of food, returning to the room with a quickly made sandwich. She plopped herself back down on the leather sofa, chewing noisily.

Ivan grimaced. "Nyet, I'm not very hungry," he muttered, sitting in the empty chair. _Who would be after seeing that display? She'd better not have made a mess in there..._

Amelia swallowed. "You sure? You look like the type of guy that eats a lot," she stated, shrugging her shoulders.

"What's that supposed to mean, American?" Ivan growled, eye twitching in annoyance.

Amelia bit into her sandwich again, swallowing. "Well, you're a pretty big dude, just looks like you'd need to eat a lot," she replied, sticking her tongue out to catch some ketchup on the corner of her mouth. "Just sayin'."

Ivan muttered something under his breath, not really feeling up to arguing the possible insult. He shifted around in the chair, making it squeak softly as he tried to find a comfortable position. It had been several days since he'd gotten more than an hour of sleep, so it was going to be a bit difficult to keep a close eye on the American. He took another cigarette from his jacket and lit it, exhaling smoke from his nostrils.

Amelia scrunched up her face in disgust. "So...Where do you think the others have gone? The boss said that they were moving, but where?" she asked, trying not to gag from the smoke wafting towards her.

Ivan glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "They have many other locations at their disposal, so I imagine they will go to one of those. When they need us again, we will be contacted," he replied. "But I wouldn't hold my breath for any calls. It will take them a while to get set up again."

Amelia wiped crumbs from her hands and stretched herself out on the leather sofa. "That means we get a little down time! After what's happened tonight, I feel like I could use a break already!" she exclaimed, twisting around onto her side and propping her head up with an arm.

Ivan blinked several times, trying not to show his fatigue to the other. He took a long drag from his cigarette, index finger tapping against his leg in a constant rhythm. "You're quite lazy, aren't you? You only did one job tonight. I generally get sent out three or four times in one day. Consider yourself lucky that business has been good for them," he said in a mocking tone, eyes narrowing.

"I'm not lazy, jackass! It was just...a little bit different than what I'm used to, alright?" Amelia retorted, glaring at the Russian. Her heart wasn't in the look, though, and she quickly dropped it. "So, you do stuff like this all the time, huh? Nothing new...Just the same old jobs, huh?" she asked, keeping her tone casual.

Ivan bristled at that; sleep deprivation didn't improve his temper in any way. "Do not presume that I take pleasure in what I do, American. I am well aware that what I do is wrong, but it's just surviving on my part. This life is a cage that I can't escape, and it only seems to get smaller the longer I remain in it. It isn't something I would choose if I had the option, but I simply don't," he growled out in a deadly low voice, rising angrily from his seat. Screw keeping a close eye on the American, he needed a drink.

Amelia watched the Russian leave the room with interest. _Huh...didn't see that coming. _She got up from the sofa and followed after the other, more questions popping into her head.

"What do you mean you don't have a choice? There's always a choice. You can just leave, you know," she said as she came into the small kitchen.

"Your simple outlook on life is a nice thought, but life isn't like that. This group provides me with protection. If I leave, I not only leave myself vulnerable to attack from those who are already tracking me down, but also to retaliation from this ring of smugglers. Either way, I put myself in a bad position," Ivan replied as he rummaged through the small kitchen. Finally finding what he was looking for, he dusted off the half empty bottle of vodka.

"Protection?! From what?! You got shot tonight - don't you say that it was my fault again - and from the look of all those scars you've got, it isn't an uncommon thing! How is that protection?!" Amelia shouted in frustration. _Jeez, this guy is thick! It's impossible to get anything through his skull!_

Ivan glared at her, but otherwise ignored her, uncapping the bottle and taking a large gulp of the clear liquor.

"Fine, whatever. Guess that old guy was right," Amelia muttered, turning to leave.

"What did you say?" Ivan growled, following Amelia back into the other room.

"I said the old guy was right about you! He said you were nothing but an attack dog, and he was right! Your life is a cage because you're too scared to break away from it!" she yelled, swinging around to face him.

Ivan took a step back, amethyst eyes wide in shock. No one had spoken to him like that in a very long time, and what she said was more or less true. This was really the only thing he knew in life, and it was unsettling to even think about leaving it, no matter how gruesome it was.

Ivan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, unconsciously tracing the scars there. "It's late...why don't you try to get some rest? You can take the bed that's in the room over there," he suggested, gesturing to a dark doorway.

"Fine, but just so you know, I won this round, alright?" Amelia huffed as she headed into the dark room, searching for the light switch.

"Of course, whatever you say, little one," Ivan chuckled, taking another swig of alcohol.

"Don't call me that! I'm not little!" Amelia whined indignantly, flipping on the lights once she found the switch.

"You are little compared to me," he replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Everyone is, you dumb bear. That's not a fair comparison, anyways," Amelia countered, sticking her tongue out at the Russian.

Ivan gave her a lopsided grin. "But your attitude makes up for that, da?" he joked, placing a hand on her head and pushing down roughly.

Amelia swatted his hand away. "Quit it! You're gonna mess up my hair, jerk! It took me a really long time to get it just right!" she exclaimed, fussing with her hair.

Ivan shook his head and stretched, flinching when his injured shoulder protested the movement. "Go to sleep," he said, ignoring the pain burning in his shoulder as much as possible. He trudged over to the worn chair and sat back down, keeping his eyes trained on Amelia.

"You're no fun," Amelia teased as she entered the other room. She closed the door quietly and looked around the room.

It was as sparsely decorated as the rest of the place seemed to be, though it was clear that this room got the most use. The room was clean, but not in an obsessively sterile way. There was a single bed and a small dresser in the room, but nothing else in the sense of furniture.

Amelia let herself fall onto the bed, grateful for the little bit of comfort that it gave her. She took her phone out again and dialed the number she had been told to, by agent England, to contact The Foundation.

"Agent America, you have a status update?" a familiar British voice asked in a relieved tone before Amelia could even say hello.

"Yeah, sure do, Iggy! Check my location," she said, grinning into the phone.

"Alright...just one moment," Arthur replied, opening up the tracking system for the phone on the computer in front of him. "Hmm, that's interesting. You're in one of The Foundation's old safe houses. What are you doing in there?" he asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, I don't know...I'm just doing a totally wicked job at my mission! I've found the target's location. He'll probably be here for at least a couple of days, so you should start planning a raid as soon as possible. I'll try to keep him here until you can get it together, 'kay?" Amelia answered in a smug voice.

"That's great, Amelia! I'll inform the Commissioner right away - Wait! Y-You'll keep him there? You're not there with him, are you?" Arthur nearly choked when the reality of her words sunk in to him.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Amelia asked, her tone still rather cheerful.

"Well, yes. Not only could he kill you easily, but it makes a raid rather difficult. Unless you can get out of the building when we start the raid, we'll have to wait for a more opportune moment," Arthur answered.

"What?! But-"

"I'll talk it over with the Commissioner...We'll see after that, alright?" Arthur said, cutting off Amelia's exclamation. "You're...you're doing fine, yes? Not being an idiot or making stupid decisions, are you?" he asked in a halting voice, his concern for her forcing him to ask.

"Yeah...I'm doing fine, Iggy. No need to worry," Amelia answered, feeling rather deflated that her plan wasn't going as smoothly as she'd liked.

"Good...good, that's...good. I've got to be going now, but I'll contact you soon with details on a raid, okay?" the Brit said, relief flooding his voice again.

"Sure thing, Iggy. I gotta get some sleep anyway," Amelia sighed, ending the call. She rolled over onto her stomach, not really feeling tired. She fussed around on the bed for an hour before getting fed up.

She opened the door and padded into the other room, hoping the television worked. "Hey, do you mind if I turn the t.v. on? I'm bored and I can't sleep...," Amelia trailed off when she saw that Ivan was asleep.

The Russian was sprawled out on the sofa; one leg slung over the arm, while another was hanging off its edge. His face was flushed slightly from the alcohol he'd been drinking, and the empty bottle was loosely held in his right hand, just a few inches from the floor.

Amelia snuck over to the small television and grabbed the remote, careful to be quiet as she turned it on and flipped through the channels. She was happy that it worked, but most of the stations were in Spanish. Eventually she found an old horror movie that was in English, and she settled down in the chair to watch it.

Her eyes would flick over to Ivan every now and then, surprised that he hadn't woken up from the television being turned on.

_He's a lot easier to deal with when he's asleep. If it weren't for that bottle of vodka, he'd look kinda cute...I didn't just think that...Just focus on the movie, brain! Blood, guts, gun wielding heroes, damsels in distress, and zombies! Wait - Z-Zombies?!_ Amelia suppressed a scream and covered her eyes as one of the characters was devoured by a horde of undead creatures.


	10. The Difference Between Dreams & Reality

_"Ivan, keep up! Mama said we were going to meet someone special at the park, but we'll never get there if you keep dawdling," an exasperated voice cried, sounding just a little bit impatient. _

_A young girl of about twelve years ran up to a little boy who was no older than four, a slight frown on her face. She was wearing simple overalls with a white blouse and she had a few hair clips in her short beige hair._

_The boy looked up from the puddle of murky water that he had just splashed into, a disgruntled look on his face. "But I don't want to go to the park, Katya! I want to play with Natasha some more, she'll be lonely if I don't," the boy argued, crossing his arms to display his displeasure. "It's cold, too," he added, kicking at the water surrounding his shoes._

_"You wouldn't be so cold if you just put on your jacket. And Mama told you not to jump in the puddles, Vanya! You'll ruin your shoes and get all wet. Besides, Natalia is with Mama, so you can play with her at the park. Come on," the girl countered, offering her hand out to the younger boy._

_The boy stuck his tongue out at the girl and splashed a few more times in the puddle before taking her hand. _

Ivan couldn't tell if this was a memory or a dream, either way, it was a nice change from what he normally experienced.

_"Where were you two? I thought I had lost you," a woman with shoulder length beige hair scolded the two children, though her tone was more relieved than angry. She shifted the two-year-old girl in her arms, careful not to wake the slumbering child._

_"It was Ivan's fault, Mama! He was jumping in puddles again," the girl blurted out instantly, jumping from one foot to the other in her excitement to get to the park._

_"I was not!" Ivan retorted, giving the woman puppy-dog eyes._

_"Oh, really?" she questioned, an eyebrow raised in disbelief._

_"Um...yes?" Ivan replied, not sounding too confident._

_"Then why are your pants all wet, Ivan?" the woman asked, her expression changing to one of amusement as the boy looked down at his wet pants. _

_Ivan gave the woman a sheepish smile, rocking back and forth on his heels. _

_The woman chuckled, shaking her head in amusement. "Come along, you two. We don't want to keep our friend waiting, now do we? He's just over there, see?" she said, pointing to a man sitting rigidly at one of the park benches._

_"Who is that, Mama?" the girl asked in a curious voice, eyeing the man carefully as they walked up to him._

_"He's a very dear friend of mine, Katyusha," the woman answered, a small smile on her face. "Niki, I'm glad you came," she said, now addressing the sitting man._

_The man looked up as his name was spoken, a blank look in his icy eyes. "Anfisa...you look...well," the man muttered, glancing at the three children she had with her. "Did you have to bring them with you? You were supposed to come alone," he growled, eyes narrowing as they came to rest on Ivan._

_Anfisa frowned. "I couldn't leave them alone at the safe house, Nikolai. They're not yet old enough to take care of themselves," she hissed in a low tone, her amethyst eyes burning with indignation._

_Katyusha, the eldest of the children, sensed that the two adults would prefer to be left alone. "Mama, I can take Natalia, if you want," the girl offered, arms held out for the toddler._

_"Thank you, Katyusha. Why don't you go over to the play structure? Take your brother with you," the woman said, carefully handing over the small girl in her arms to her other daughter. _

_Once the three children were out of earshot, Anfisa turned her full attention to the man sitting on the bench. "Why must you always act like this? I know how you really are...how pleasant you can be. Why do you not show that side more often, Niki?" she asked in a frustrated voice, sitting close to the man. _

_"That was a mistake...I see that now. We can't show such weakness anymore, Anfisa. Our line of work doesn't allow for such...lapses in judgement," Nikolai replied gruffly, watching the young children play in the slush of leftover snow._

_The woman let her eyes fall to her gloved hands, tears pricking at their edges. "You don't mean that, I know you don't. You came because you wanted to see him...You want to be a part of his life," she said softly, raising her gaze to follow his._

_Nikolai sighed, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and index finger. "How is it that you can get to me like that? You are impossible to fool or argue with. It is quite annoying...and endearing, in its better moments. But, you know that The Foundation will want to use them...That was the penalty you payed for keeping them," he said, nearly spitting out the last part. _

_"I know...but, we can get them out. Before The Foundation can take them," Anfisa replied, a confident look in her eyes._

_"Why did you just say 'we'? I don't believe I said I would help you smuggle the little brats out of The Foundation. They already suspect something is going on between the two of us," Nikolai growled, sending a scathing glare at the woman next to him._

_Anfisa pouted, and brought herself closer to Nikolai. "Why the sour look, Niki? This 'something' going on between us...I believe you've enjoyed every moment of it. Or, is it that you're still a bit put out about being on the bottom? I can't help myself, I love being in control," she purred in his ear, letting her words sink in._

_"Blast it! That's not it at all, woman! It's too damned risky, that's all! Besides, I think you're remembering that night wrong," Nikolai burst out, shivering as the woman's hot breath tickled his cold ear. "It's highly unlikely that we'll be able to get them away from The Foundation right now. We should wait a month or two, make sure everything is set up before making any moves-" the man stopped as the woman began to laugh._

_"What are you giggling at? It's only common sense to have a plan of action before going into such a dangerous - and foolhardy - task. It's amazing how you can't take anything seriously," he muttered._

_"You're cute when you're lecturing," Anfisa giggled behind her hand, eyes twinkling._

_The man was about to argue that description when he was interrupted by the little boy trudging over to them._

_"Mama, I want to leave. I'm cold, and Katya tripped me into the snow. She said she didn't mean to, but I don't believe her...she was laughing at me," Ivan complained, shivering._

_"Well, if you hadn't forgotten your coat and jumped in those puddles earlier, you wouldn't be so cold. We'll be leaving soon, so just be patient, Ivan. And I'm sure your sister didn't trip you on purpose," Anfisa chided lightly, pulling the young boy onto her lap. Ivan squirmed around until he found a comfortable position._

_Nikolai studied the boy closely, surprised by how much the child resembled his mother. "He...looks a lot like you, Anfisa," he pointed out almost awkwardly, unused to the situation._

_"Yes, but he's got your nose, Niki," she giggled, smiling as Ivan gave her a confused look._

_Nikolai made a face at that. "How unfortunate for him...," the man grumbled, a frown distorting his features._

_"Oh, hush. I think it's adorable," the woman said, turning to give the man a kiss._

Ivan couldn't help but think that this happy little sequence had run its course, and that another nightmare was about to start up.

It was a nightmare that he'd had before, but not very often. It would start out in an empty room without any doors or windows. He would be completely alone for about two minutes - or what seemed like two minutes - before a faceless, humanoid shadow appeared in the room. It would lunge at him and he would shoot it, killing it instantly. The shadow would then take the form of one of the many people he had killed, though it was never the same person twice. The corpse would then multiply, taking on a new face every time, until the room was littered with bodies. Blood would pump out of the bodies until it filled the entire room, and he would slowly drown in it.

Ivan felt like he was trapped and he couldn't breathe anymore. He kept willing himself to calm down and wake up, it was only a dream after all. But he couldn't; he started to panic.

Amelia was jarred out of the movie she was watching when she heard the sound of glass shattering. Her attention was quickly drawn over to agent Russia, who was thrashing around on the sofa, muttering something over and over in Russian.

She debated on what to do for about a second before going over to the Russian and shaking him by the shoulder. "Hey, wake up!" she shouted in his ear, but it didn't have the desired effect; the other remained asleep. Amelia was about to smack him when he suddenly threw her off of himself, sending her crashing to the floor. She winced as she felt jagged glass from the shattered vodka bottle dig into her arm.

"Shit...What the hell's up with you?!" Amelia yelled, hoping that he hadn't figured out that she was an agent from The Foundation. She nearly choked when she saw that he had drawn his gun, and was aiming it in her general direction. Amelia's mind seemed to go blank as fear set in. _I'm gonna die here..._ She closed her eyes, waiting for the ending shot. But it never came.

Amelia slowly opened her eyes to see Ivan standing just in front of her, his eyes glazed over and the gun shaking violently in his hand. He wasn't aiming at her, but something that wasn't even there. Amelia swallowed thickly, moving into a kneeling position. As soon as she moved, Ivan pointed the gun at her. She jumped out of the way as he fired, hitting the spot she had just been in. Amelia stayed in a crouched position, and swept Ivan's legs out from under him with a low kick. He fell on his side, the gun clattered across the floor as it was jarred from the Russian's grasp. Amelia used all of her strength to quickly restrain Ivan, pinning his arms behind his back. He struggled against her hold, but she had a pretty strong grip and he couldn't get free. Amelia remained rigidly alert until Ivan's body relaxed and his breathing became more even.

"What are you doing?" he grumbled, his tone slightly irritated.

Amelia almost had a heart attack when he spoke up. "What do you mean what am I doing?! You almost blew my brains out!" she yelled, hitting him with her balled up fist. "You were spazzing out or something, and I tried to help you, but then you knocked me backwards and shot at me!" she explained, still not releasing him.

Ivan froze at what she said. _I attacked her? But...I don't remember any of that!_ He tried desperately to remember any of what Amelia had just told him, but he couldn't recall any of it. It was incredibly unnerving to not be able to remember something like that. "I...," Ivan started, but he couldn't think of what to say to that. He settled for banging his forehead against the floor.

"Stop that, you're gonna hurt yourself!" Amelia scolded, finally releasing the Russian and sitting herself down on the floor next to him. "Listen...you scared the holy hell out of me, but nothing happened. Don't beat yourself up for something you couldn't help," she said, not really knowing why she was trying to comfort him. _Really, I should be pissed...but...it looks like he didn't even know what he was doing. _

Ivan let out a strangled laugh, slowly getting into a sitting position. His shoulder was throbbing painfully, he couldn't remember almost killing someone, and he had a headache; he was not in an optimistic mood. "What makes you think I _wasn't _trying to kill you?" he asked, venom dripping in his tone.

Amelia watched him closely, a serious expression on her face. "Your eyes," she stated, no hint of joking in her voice.

Ivan gave her a wary look, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"You didn't look like you were all there. You were just...stuck in a nightmare," she continued, starting to feel somewhat foolish now. "You don't have to listen to me or anything! I mean, I don't even really know what I'm talkin' about-" Amelia rambled in an embarrassed tone as she waved her arms around in excessive gestures. "Ow...shit, I forgot about that," she hissed in pain, glaring at the glass shard protruding from her arm.

"I thought you said nothing happened...," Ivan mumbled, eyeing the wound carefully. It looked worse than it actually was.

"Yeah, but-"

"Quiet. Just...follow me," he cut her off before she could argue. Ivan got back to his feet and headed into the room that Amelia had been given for the night.

Amelia puffed her cheeks out, blowing air up at her bangs. She got up, and begrudgingly followed the Russian into the other room.

Ivan always had some sort of medical kit stored in the old safe house, never knowing when he would need it. He exited the small bathroom that was attached to the room just as Amelia was entering. "Sit down," he ordered, motioning to the bed.

Amelia made a face at the order, but she complied.

Ivan set the kit down on the floor, kneeling down so that he was about eye-level with Amelia, though he avoided her gaze. He studied the bleeding wound for a moment before quickly grabbing her wrist and slowly maneuvering the jagged piece of glass from her flesh.

"Shit! You couldn't of warned me first?!" Amelia exclaimed, blinking back reaction tears. She didn't get an answer as Ivan continued to work on her arm. It didn't take very long, and she was surprised when he stopped. "That's it?" Amelia asked, staring at her now bandaged arm.

"I could shoot you, if you prefer a more noticeable wound," Ivan growled, still feeling frustrated about not remembering the whole incident.

Amelia paled. "No, no...I was just surprised by how fast you finished, that's all," she said, a nervous grin plastered on her face. _He must have lots of experience with this sort of thing...He was actually really gentle after yankin' that shard out._ "Hey, I...uh, wanna say-"

"Don't. I caused it to happen, so I fixed it. That's all. Now, go to sleep," Ivan interrupted her again, leaving the room and closing the door so that she couldn't get anything in edgewise.

_Why was I thinking of thanking him again? Well, I guess I should get some sleep...but not 'cause he told me to!_ Amelia thought to herself, turning off the lights in the room. She slipped under the covers, but couldn't get her mind to stop thinking enough for her to settle down. _Gah, this is gonna be a loooong night_, she sighed, deciding to go over some things in her head.


	11. Breakfast Anyone?

Arthur Kirkland, also known as agent England, walked nervously down the halls of The Foundation's main base in DC. He had finally gotten a check-in report from agent America, which he was ecstatic about, but now he had to talk to the Commissioner about getting a raid party set up. This wouldn't normally be a problem, but, since this mission was so sensitive, the Comissioner was involved in its every step; any major decision had to be approved by him.

Arthur adjusted his tie once again. He would admit that he didn't relish that he had to speak with the Commissioner; the man had always given him a very bad feeling. He never trusted him. Having never seen the man's face before, it was no wonder. How can you trust someone who won't reveal their identity to you? It was the same with most of the other agents; they'd never seen the man's face before. Arthur only knew of a few agents that had seen the man in the light. They were agents Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter; the Commissioner's personal agents. They went only on missions that the Commissioner assigned to them, and they rarely went on group missions with the other agents.

Arthur had met all four of them before, but that was only due to him being one of the agents in charge of intelligence; basically, he was a glorified record keeper. As he remembered, agents Spring and Summer were rather nice. Agent Spring was relatively young, being only twenty-five, and always seemed to see the good in things. Agent Summer was the oldest agent still working in The Foundation, being seventy-six, but that didn't impede on her abilities in any way. On the other hand, agents Fall and Winter were rather dismal company. Agent Fall was only two years older than agent Spring, but there was a vast difference in their personalities. Agent Fall was a quiet, stoic young man; never giving you any insight into what he was thinking, and he didn't speak unless he thought it was absolutely necessary. Agent Winter was intimidating, cruel, and commanded respect; his icy eyes seemed able to stare through your entire being and freeze your soul.

Arthur began fussing with his shirt collar. Honestly, it was amazing how much power this faceless man held within the government; so many highly trained killers were loyal to him. Arthur was quite happy to be on their side - not that he was a coward, but one man could only do so much.

"Ni hao*, Arthur. What are you doing in this sector, aru?" a curious voice sounded from behind the British man.

Arthur let out an undignified yelp, clutching at his chest. "Bloody hell, Yao, don't sneak up on me like that! I nearly had a heart attack! What the bloody hell are _you_ doing down here?" Arthur retorted caustically.

"I was just going down to the archives; I need to look up some information on a specific case. Now, answer my question, Arthur," the Chinese man answered curtly, folding his arms across his chest patiently.

"Well, if you must know...I'm going to speak with the Commisioner about Amelia's - I mean - _agent America's_ current mission. She has requested a raid party be sent, but I need the Commissioner's approval first," Arthur replied somewhat hesitantly. It wasn't that he distrusted Yao, it was just that he cared too much for Amelia for anything to go wrong. He had to keep as much as he could close to the vest, but there was no harm in bragging a bit about how well the American was doing.

Yao's eyes widened slightly, then narrowed. "You can't be serious...she couldn't have gotten that close to agent Russia already. She's still a rookie agent, there's no way Ivan would let her that close unless he was planning something," he breathed, not believing what the Brit said.

"Well, why don't you just look in the report I wrote on agent America's mission progress? I'm sure it will be excellent reading," Arthur said smugly.

"Arthur Kirkland, do not take what I say lightly! Agent America is in very serious danger, aru! I know how Ivan operates - I helped train him - so don't think that some rookie can take him down easily. Just because agent America's training went on longer than his, doesn't mean that she has what it takes to bring him down! Agent Russia's training was severe; not even I could take him by myself, and I've been doing this much longer than you, let alone Amelia," Yao said in a low voice, eyes locking with Arthur's.

Agent England felt a twinge of doubt in his mind, but decided to ignore it. "Come off it. You're just miffed that the agent _you _trained isn't performing like he should be, unlike Amelia. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to go talk with the Commissioner," Arthur replied, pushing past the older agent.

Agent China stood there, stunned for a moment, before pursuing after the Brit. "Aiyah, you stupid, foolish European! If you don't intervene soon, agent America will be dead within the week. Your raiding party will arrive at the set location only to find her gutted corpse...I've seen him do it before," Yao exclaimed, his voice pleading.

"Amelia can handle herself...she'll be fine. Besides, how do you know that he's done that sort of thing before? I don't believe I've ever seen the reports on any mission with you and agent Russia," Arthur asked, turning a suspicious look on the Chinese man.

"That's because it wasn't a mission, or not a mission that we were assigned together. I was a part of the team that was sent to track him down when he defected. A rookie agent was with us, agent Holy Roman Empire, and he went ahead to scout. We found his body in one of the old safe houses; he had been cut open like a fish and strangled with his own intestines. It was not a pretty sight, as you can imagine, aru," agent China answered, grimacing when he remembered the terrible sight.

"W-Well, that's not going to happen this time. We'll get there before anything like that happens. This will be a successful mission for Amelia, you'll see. Everything is going as planned, so stop trying to make me second guess myself," Arthur said, trying to cover up his discomfort.

Yao sighed, shaking his head in defeat. "Arthur...," he started to say, but stopped when he saw someone approaching them.

"Hey, Caterpillar Brows, the Commissioner wants to see you! Something 'bout that twerpy American brat's mission...I don't really know. Whenever he starts yappin' about someone who's not the Awesome Me, I tend to drown him out with my awesome thoughts," an obnoxious German accented voice blared from down the hall.

"Don't call me that, you wanker!" Arthur yelled, whirling around to glare at Gilbert Beilschmidt, or agent Prussia.

"Whatever, tea slurper. That brat shouldn't have gotten that mission. It's just unawesome that I can't get my revenge on that good for nothing, big nosed, son of a pig-faced cow!" the German man growled in frustration, running his index finger along the side of his right eye socket. He had lost his right eye in the gun fight that had erupted when agent Russia defected.

"Oh, stow it, you blighter. All you do is complain. Have you ever thought of trying to do something useful for a change?" Arthur muttered darkly, heading down the hallway to the Commissioner's quarters.

* * *

><p>Amelia had just gone into the small kitchen to get her breakfast of some sort of flavorless bran cereal when there was a knock at the front door. "Hey, big guy, door," she mumbled around a spoonful of what she considered chunks of cardboard, even if they had been thoroughly coated in sugar.<p>

Ivan gave her an agitated look. "Why can't you get it? I'd like to see you actually use your legs...if only to confirm that you can still walk," he muttered sourly into his coffee. Amelia had whined until she annoyed him enough to buy some.

"But I'm busy trying to chew my way through these wood chips," she whined, poking the soggy bran flakes with her spoon. "Besides, I don't see you doing anything, Ruski," Amelia said, pointing her spoon accusingly at the Russian.

Ivan really felt like throwing his cup of coffee at the wall, but he refrained. "Fine...," he sighed, getting up from the wobbly seat at the small table in the kitchen.

Amelia grinned triumphantly as he left the room. "And the American hero wins another round against the villainous Ruski! USA, USA, USA!" she crowed, pounding the flimsy table with her fists.

"Past' zakroi*!" Ivan barked at Amelia from the other room, opening the door testily.

"Merde*!" a French voice practically screamed.

"Chto za huy*?" Ivan slipped into Russian, a confused tilt to his head as he looked over the Frenchman, who was clutching at his chest with a terrified look on his face. "What are you doing here, Monte? Mortimer couldn't be finished relocating yet...," he muttered, more to himself than Francis.

"Mon dieu*! I thought you were going to take my head off! My beauty would have been stolen from the world, do you know how incredibly saddening that would have been?!" Francis exclaimed dramatically, flicking back his hair.

"Yo, Frenchie, what're you doin' here?" Amelia popped her head into the main room, chugging down her cup of hot coffee.

"Well, I was looking for you, of course. After Mortimer had us all move out, I didn't get the chance to see if you had made it out alright. Besides, you left your suitcase in the back of my car," Francis explained, sauntering into the safe house.

"Sweet! I've been wearing the same crummy clothes that you picked out for me for days," Amelia said cheerfully, pumping her fist.

"I offered you some of mine," Ivan growled, keeping his eyes on agent France.

"Dude, none of them came even close to fitting me...and they were all...commie...ish," Amelia replied, waving her arms around excessively and rolling her eyes.

Ivan gave her a cold glare, but didn't say anything. He fingered the faded scarf that he had on, running the worn fabric between his index finger and the pad of his thumb.

Amelia took notice of this action. She'd seen him do it before, usually when he had gotten really annoyed with her or was silently angry at one of her comments. "What is with you and that scarf? You wear it like it's a freaking sin not to! It's not even cold right now!" Amelia pointed out, eyeing the dirty white scarf that looked like it had been a light pink color in its better days.

"It's none of your concern...You wouldn't understand it, anyway," the Russian replied curtly, letting his hand fall away from the old garment.

"Jeez, touchy. Whatever, I'm gonna go and get my stuff out of your car, Frenchie," Amelia said, shrugging off the comment as she headed out the door.

"So, is that really why you're here, Monte? I've never taken you as the type of person to do something so trivial out of the kindness of your heart," Ivan asked, amethyst eyes pinning a piercing look on the blond man.

Francis felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and a prickling sensation traveled slowly down his spine. "Ahem...well, I assure you that I had no ulterior motives, Jean*. I am good friends with, uh, Jessica-" Francis stopped mid sentence at the glint in the Russian's eyes when he had paused before using Amelia's cover name.

"Oh, really?" Ivan asked sarcastically, placing a gloved hand on the now shaking Frenchman's shoulder. "You know, _Beau_, I actually believe you. After all, one would create such bonds of comradery after working together for so long," he said in a deceptively cheerful tone, giving the other man a crooked grin.

Agent France gathered his courage and grabbed the Russian's wrist, wrestling his hand from his shoulder. "Yes, one does, but I don't expect _you_ to understand something of that emotional magnitude, Jean," he retorted caustically, anger flashing in his ocean blue eyes.

Ivan frowned at the man's reaction, expecting him to cower like most people did whenever he got in their personal space or made physical contact. "I suppose I wouldn't, would I?" he replied bluntly, face now blank.

"Yo, the hero's back! So, Frenchie, wanna go get breakfast or something? That nasty cardboard stuff just ain't gonna cut it." Amelia burst back into the main room with her usual oblivious happiness.

"Of course, mon cher. I've been so busy that I hadn't had the time to eat anything this morning. Where would you like to go - and I'm going to say it now, we're not going to that slopmill you like so much," Francis agreed wholeheartedly, taking this chance to edge away from agent Russia.

"Boo...whatever. I think I'll pretty much eat anywhere, so long as it has real food! You comin', Big Red?" Amelia asked, directing her attention to Ivan. She was feeling pretty good right now, and wouldn't actually mind the large Russian coming along. She'd gotten pretty much used to his presence and behavior; it was actually kind of fun getting into stupid arguments with him.

"Nyet, I don't think I will. I have work to do...I'm sure Mortimer will be wanting to go and get the money from that offshore account soon, so I should get details about that from him today. Besides, I wouldn't want to take away from your time with your dear friend," Ivan answered dryly, turning to head back into the small kitchen.

"Aw, come on! Live a little, Red. All you think about is work, you gotta get out and do something different for a change. Besides, running on only coffee and an empty stomach doesn't work so well if you wanna focus on anything. Believe me, I know. Come on, you can put off talkin' to the boss for a day, right?" Amelia countered, clearly not taking no for an answer.

"What don't you get about my answer, American? I do not want to go. That's it. The end. No more. The topic is not up for discussion any longer," Ivan snarled, whirling back around to confirm that she understood what he was saying.

What he didn't expect was for Amelia to grab him by his shirt front and drag him down so that they were almost nose to nose.

"Listen, I'm trying to be nice here, so you either come with me or I dump all that skunk piss you call 'Russian water' down the sink. So, what's it gonna be, Red? You come with me and the Frenchie and relax for once, or you lose all your vodka," Amelia growled, her glasses sliding down her nose a bit.

Ivan was a little at a loss for words. She'd spoken to him like this not once, but twice! It was something he wasn't at all used to, and didn't like very much. He was about to tell her off when someone said, "Fine, I'll go." That...wasn't him...was it?

Amelia's furious scowl was soon replaced with the usual goofy grin of hers. "Cool. You'll have fun, I promise!" she said, releasing the strong grip she had on his shirt. "Frenchie, you're buying!"

The two men stood in mutual shocked silence as the bubbly American paraded out the front door.

What the hell had just happened?

* * *

><p>"Commissioner, sir, I would like to request a raid party be prepared as soon as possible on behalf of agent America. Who, as you know, is the agent actively working on the agent Russia mission. She's gotten his location, and is capable of keeping him in said location for at least a couple of days. The requested raid party needs to be figured as soon as possible, sir," Arthur stated, glancing around the pitch black room nervously.<p>

A raspy cough sounded from the back of the dark room. "Hmm, is that so? Well, this agent America has done incredibly well for a rookie. I'll be sure to assemble the best team that I can. Once I've read your report of the mission's progress, of course," a warbly old voice sounded from the dark.

"Of course, sir. I'll get back to my post now, sir," Arthur said in a grateful tone, letting out a breath carefully. He rose from his chair and quickly made his way out of the room.

"Of course, of course. Soon, very soon...my weapon will be put to the test," the voice said once the British man had left down the hall. "What do you say to a little reunion, Nikolai? I'm sure you've been anxious to see your little boy again," the voice addressed someone else in the room, gloating clear in the elderly voice.

Agent Winter remained silent, hands clenched at his sides in futile anger.

A sandy laugh echoed hauntingly through the dark room. "Yes, I thought you'd like that very much," the voice chuckled darkly. In the blackness, an arthritic hand massaged the other.

* * *

><p>Ni hao : Hello <strong>in Chinese<strong>

Past' zakroi : Shut it **in Russian**

Chto za huy : What the fuck **in Russian**

Merde : Shit **in French**

Mon dieu : My God **in French**

Jean : One of the ways to say Ivan** in French**

All of these translations were taken from the internet, so they might not be accurate. If any of them are incorrect, please tell me.


	12. Think Back Now

_"Hey, there's my little hero! How've you been, Melie? Lookin' after your mother and sister, right?" a man exclaimed exuberantly, holding his arms out to a little girl._

_"Daddy! Daddy, you're back!" the blonde haired girl squealed happily, running eagerly into the man's open arms. "I've been taking good care of Mommy and Maddie!" she added, giving the man a powerful hug._

_"That's good, Melie. You know...you're the girl of the house, so you have to make sure to look after Maddie and your Mother real good when I'm gone, okay? Can you promise me that?" the man asked, his tone turning serious._

_"Of course, Daddy! But...does that mean you're gonna leave again? I don't want you to," the girl grumbled, folding her arms stubbornly._

_"I don't want to leave you guys either, but it's my duty. Hey, how 'bout this? I'm gonna give you my old man's bomber jacket. I've had it ever since he passed away, and now you can have it! Keep it with you wherever you go, it'll be like I'm right there with you!" the man said, taking off the old brown jacket he had been wearing and putting it on his daughter. "Heh, it's a bit big on you, but you'll grow into it!" he chuckled, tugging the jacket up a little further as it slipped down the girl's small shoulders._

_"Thank you, Daddy! I'll wear it everywhere, just like you said, 'cause I don't ever want you to go away again!" the little girl grinned wildly, hugging the loose jacket closer to her small frame._

_"That's good. Just remember, I'll always be there for you...even if you can't see me," the man said softly, picking the girl up and walking over to his wife and other daughter._

Amelia smiled, pulling the worn bomber jacket closer to her body. Her father had given it to her when she was six, and she had worn it as often as she could. Her father had been an air force pilot and was gone for a lot of Amelia's childhood, but when he was home, it always made up for the time he was gone.

Her father's plane had crashed in a routine flight that the air force bases conducted to make sure their pilots were up to snuff. It happened two weeks after he had given her his father's World War Two bomber jacket.

Amelia's mother took her husband's death very hard. She became clinically depressed, and was unable to take care of her two young daughters. Amelia and her twin sister, Madeline, went into foster care. They went from home to home, never really finding a place or family to call their own. When the girls turned ten, they were both taken into The Foundation. Amelia took it as an opportunity to continue doing what her father had been: help her country in any way she could.

"Hey, Frenchie, are we almost there yet? We've been driving around for hours!" Amelia whined, dragging out the last word in a bored moan.

"We have been driving for only ten minutes! You have the attention span of a two-year-old, mon cher. It's not that much further. We'd have been there already if not for this traffic," Francis replied, shaking his head at the American's antics.

"Can I turn on the radio?" Amelia asked, already reaching for the dial.

"Sure. Just no political talk shows, I can't stand them. All they do is argue like children on a playground, or yell for no reason and ultimately talk about nothing." Francis nodded, making a right turn.

"Sure, whatever. I was just gonna look for some good music. Got anything I should keep an ear open for?" she shrugged, flipping through the stations lazily.

"Non, there's never any music to my tastes on the radio," Francis said, flipping his hair back.

"What about you, Red? Got anything you like to listen to?" Amelia asked, turning around in her seat to somewhat face Ivan.

He gave her a blank look. "I don't listen to music," he stated bluntly.

"Oh, come on! Everyone likes music!" Amelia blurted, starting to get frustrated with the Russian's 'I'm going to make this more difficult than it has to be' attitude.

Ivan kept up his blank look.

"Fine, be a jerk! I found a Lady Gaga song, so suck it!" Amelia huffed, settling back into her seat.

"Ohonhonhon! You two are so cute when you argue...Almost like a married couple," Francis said, glancing at the American sitting next to him out of the corner of his eye.

"What?!" came the simultaneous responses of Amelia and Ivan, both equally angry that the Frenchman would even suggest that.

"How could you-"

"On what premise-"

"Shut it, Red, I'm tryin' to yell here!" Amelia shouted, sending a glare to the backseat of the car.

"Nyet, this is your fault in the first place!" Ivan countered, returning her glare with one of his own.

"What?! My fault?! How the hell is it my fault?! Blame Frenchie McKissyFace over there!" Amelia blurted, pointing accusingly at agent France.

"Ah, mon cher, your nicknames get ever more creative. Really, I'll never get tired of hearing them," Francis chuckled, turning his gaze back to the road.

"It _is _your fault! If you had just left me alone-"

"You're still on about that?! Jeez, Red, drop it, would ya? I was bein' nice! What's so bad about goin' out once in a while?" Amelia asked, curiosity edging in on her anger.

"It's a problem because I don't get along with people. I just...I can't deal with them," Ivan muttered, turning his glare out the window.

"Can't...or don't want to?" Amelia asked, turning the radio off.

"Don't want to...can't...what's the difference?" Ivan growled, his right foot tapping against the car door agitatedly.

"There's actually quite a big difference, mon ami. One is not making the effort, the other is an inability to do so," Francis pitched in.

"Yeah, Frenchie's got a point there. So, either way, this'll be a new experience for ya! Don't worry, the hero's here to help you if you get into trouble," Amelia said teasingly.

"I'm sure," Ivan muttered under his breath.

* * *

><p>Katyusha Arlovskaya was a relatively normal person. To put her younger sister through college, she got up early in the morning and worked a regular job. It wasn't a glamorous job, she was a waitress at a little diner, but she enjoyed it none the less.<p>

The fact that herself and her sister had been in hiding for a good portion of their lives was just a disturbing fact that had become normal to Katyusha. She tried not to bring it up around her little sister, or at all, really. All it did was make her upset and Natalia, her younger sister, distant and moody.

She remembered the night that their lives of hiding started. It was a few months after her mother had introduced Katyusha and her younger brother and sister to a friend of hers. Katyusha liked the man well enough, but she'd always gotten this vibe from him, like he was...not quite like other people. After that meeting in the park, the strange man, Niki, as her mother called him, came around to the small house that they were living in often. He didn't say much to her or her siblings, though he did seem to keep a close eye on her little brother, Ivan, he mainly spoke with their mother.

She never really knew what happened to her mother that night, but she knew now that she would never see her again. Katyusha had come to grips with that fact after the first couple of years, but she would never stop thinking about what had happened to her little brother. What she remembered about that night would replay in her mind every now and then.

_Katyusha woke up to the sound of her younger brother screaming. She bolted up in her bed, quickly rubbing sleep from her eyes. The twelve-year-old climbed out of bed and over to the crib that held her baby sister. The baby girl had started to cry, also having been awoken by the scream. Katyusha desperately tried to quiet the baby, but couldn't, so she picked the girl up and tip-toed out of her room._

_She was about to head into her mother's room when a strong hand grabbed her by the shoulder. Katyusha almost screamed, but bit her lip and just let out a gasp instead, not wanting to upset Natalia any further. She turned around to see Nikolai behind her, a grave look on his pale face._

_"M-Mister Niki? W-What are you-"_

_"Hush. You need to be quiet now. Stay right here, don't move unless I come back and tell you to. Get that baby to be quiet," Nikolai ordered in a hushed voice, pulling the young girl into a crouch behind the small loveseat in the main room. He then moved silently into her mother's room, a gun in hand._

_Katyusha stayed where she had been told to, afraid to move an inch. Natalia seemed to sense what was happening and stopped her crying, looking up at her older sister with teary eyes. Katyusha hummed a lullaby that her mother had taught her, keeping it barely audible._

_She tried to ignore the raised voices coming from the other room, humming louder and closing her eyes to try and drown them out._

_The gunshot was something that she couldn't ignore._

_Katyusha opened her eyes, blinking through her tears to see what was going on. She saw a tall figure backing out of the room slowly,a nd for a split second thought it was Nikolai. Once the figure turned, though, it was clearly someone else._

_The man was tall, with black hair that went to his shoulder blades. He was Asian; slanted eyes and narrow facial features giving him away. He had a crooked grin on his tanned face, and chuckled darkly as Nikolai rushed into the room._

_Katyusha could see that the Asian man was carrying something, but turned at the angle he was, she couldn't tell what he had._

_"Well, well. Getting slow, Winter? I would have expected you here ten minutes ago. Instead, you gave me the perfect opportunity to get to them," the Asian man gloated, his eyes glinting dangerously._

_"Let him go, Mongolia...He's nothing to do with The Foundation," Nikolai hissed, blood dribbling from his mouth._

_"Aha, that is where you are wrong! He was born into it, just as his sisters were. If she didn't want this future for her dear children...she shouldn't have even let them breathe their first breath. Now she pays for it with blood and her own last, gasping breath," Mongolia replied in a sickly sweet voice, madness dancing in his eyes._

_"Never speak of her, creature, you have no right!" Nikolai roared, holding his stomach as blood seeped through his clothes._

_"Oh, do you not want to hear about it? Do you not want to know how it happened? It was quite sad, really. She didn't seem to expect it at all. Sleeping soundly with her little son...not fit of an agent to do. One shot...that was all that was needed. It was fatal, but not instant. Oh, how lovely that choking gasp at life was, coming from her lips. She couldn't even move to see who had dealt out her death; her life's blood pulsing out of her body in an exquisite red tide," the Asian man described, his crooked grin splitting his face._

_"Silence...I'll not listen to your forked tongue. You've done what you came here to do...the boy is of no use to you, release him!" Nikolai rumbled, taking a step towards the other man._

_Katyusha felt her heart stop. She looked closer at the Asian man and saw that he held her little brother, covering his mouth with a hand. She almost gave away her hiding spot, stopping herself from running over to the man to try and get her brother back. She stayed where she was, knowing in the back of her mind that she wouldn't be able to do anything._

_Nikolai made an attempt to rush the Asian man, but was hampered by his injury. Mongolia easily evaded his attacks and then he left, taking Katyusha's brother with him._

Katyusha's day started out like any other for her. She got up at six in the morning with some back pain, took a shower, made breakfast, then left for work. It was a good hour walk from the small apartment she rented to the diner she worked at, but she didn't mind it so much. Cars contributed to pollution, right?

She got in to work at a little past seven, when she usually did, and had just enough time to freshen up in the restroom before starting her shift. The day had started out so _normally_. The type of really normal that usually entailed something out of the ordinary happening that a person never saw coming.

* * *

><p>"Here we are, mon amours. Now, would you please get out of my beautiful car before your sexual tension tears it apart," agent France teased, switching off the car engine and unbuckling his seat-belt.<p>

"Gah, would you stop saying stuff like that?" Amelia pleaded in a whiny voice, covering her ears with the palms of her hands.

"But then I wouldn't have any entertainment! Besides, if you want to eat, you're going to have to come in with me." Francis grinned devilishly.

Amelia made a face at the Frenchman and folded her arms with a huff. "You set me up, didn't you?" she demanded, eyeing the near giddy Frenchman warily.

"How could _I_ have set you up when it was_ you_ that suggested this?" Francis pointed out cheerily, a toothy grin still set in place.

"Ugh, fine, whatever. You're still paying, though," Amelia replied, shrugging off agent France's accurate account of who had the idea in the first place.

"Of course. I am a gentleman," Francis said with a tilt of the head, getting out of the sports car.

"Yeah...right," Amelia muttered under her breath. "C'mon, Red, if I have to suffer through this, so do you," she grumbled, unbuckling her seat-belt and looking over her shoulder at the Russian.

Ivan remained in his rigid sitting position, staring out the car window with a look that Amelia could have sworn was incredibly unsure. "It's too open...too many people. I'd rather stay here...," he mumbled.

"Nu-uh, not gonna happen! I am not going to sit in there with Frenchie all by myself with him spouting more lovey-dovey bullshit. Now, c'mon, move your butt," she said, poking the larger man's knee in an effort to get him to move. "What's the worst that can happen?"

Ivan made a sound between a growl and a sigh, not meeting Amelia's gaze.

Amelia grinned as the Russian got out of the car. She quickly followed, feeling her mouth water at the prospect of real food. "It won't be that bad, you'll see," Amelia said in a reassuring whisper.

"Are you two done exchanging sweet nothings yet?" Francis piped in, reminding the two of his presence.

"For crying out loud! Quit it already!" Amelia exclaimed, running to the diner's entrance.

Francis chuckled to himself. He made to follow the American, but stopped when he noticed the small admiring, almost smile, on agent Russia's face. "Her attitude is infectious, non?" he asked, a sly smirk on his face.

Ivan blinked at agent France's question, snapping out of his own thoughts. "Hm, I don't know about that...but it's nice to see someone that The Foundation hasn't corrupted," he hummed, keeping his eyes on the exuberant American as something caught her attention near a dumpster that was up against the side of the diner.

"Well, maybe you just need to spend a little more time with her for the effect to really sink in. You two have a quite a bit in common, actually," Francis said, tugging at the sleeve of his shirt.

"Like what? She is so...so...different than me," Ivan said quietly, not about to let the Frenchman in on his thoughts about the American.

"I can't tell you that. This type of amour is something you have to figure out on your own, it can't be handed down or taught. Just talk to her, get to know her more. Then you'll know," Francis replied, giving the other a knowing look.

"Hey, look what I found!" Amelia shouted from where she stood near the dumpster. She held a grungy, bug-eyed little pug dog in her arms. "Isn't he the cutest? I found him behind the dumpster, and he just came up and licked my hand!" she grinned, snuggling the dirty little canine fondly.

Francis and Ivan exchanged dumbfounded looks.

"C'mon, slow pokes, I'm starvin'! Let's go in already," Amelia said, opening the door to the diner, bringing the small dog with her.

The two men followed after her once they had regained some of their composure, if only to try and get the stray dog that Amelia had picked up away from her.

The diner was a good-sized place; not very big, but not really small either. It was set up in a sort of retro style, with lots of old pictures and interesting baubles that had been collected over the years. Amelia found a lot of the pictures interesting, but there was this little painted clown that sat on the diner counter that seemed to follow your every move with its eyes.

"Eh, so, why did you want to come here?" Amelia asked, edging away from the colorful little clown.

"Well, you see-"

"Hello, my name is Katyusha! Would you like a table or a booth?" a cheery female voice asked.

Amelia blinked as she took in the owner of the happy-go-lucky voice.

The woman was just a bit taller than Amelia, and had beige hair done in a pixie cut with a few hairclips in. She had a kind, trusting face, but that really wasn't what drew your gaze to her. This woman had a chest that would make any plastic surgeon ashamed of their work.

"Oh...," Amelia trailed off, rolling her eyes. She tried to ignore Francis' barely contained laughter.


	13. Bonds of Blood

"Would you get rid of that flea-bitten mutt? You don't know where it's been...or if it has any diseases," Ivan grumbled, trying to keep the dog from sniffing at him.

"No, he needs me! Besides, he's fine; he doesn't look sick or anything. And don't call him a mutt! He's got a name, thank you very much," Amelia retorted, covering the pug with her bomber jacket and moving it closer to herself.

"Oh, and what's that?" Ivan asked crossly, pushing the nosey dog back over to Amelia as it crawled over to him again.

"His name's Tony. It's perfect!" Amelia stated proudly, scratching the dog's head.

"Seriously? That's what you came up with, mon cher? It looks more like a Bob...or Arthur," Francis said, taking a pot shot at agent England.

"Nope, he's totally a Tony. Come on, just look into his eyes and tell me he's not a Tony," Amelia replied, bringing the small animal up on her lap so that it could look over the table at agent France.

"Aha...I try not to look at its eyes. They're...kind of off-putting," Francis chuckled in discomfort, avoiding the pug's bulging bug eyes.

"Oh, what a cute little puppy!" their waitress exclaimed, bending over slightly to get a better look at the dog.

"He is, isn't he?" Amelia grinned, letting the woman scratch under the pug's chin.

"Yes, very much so. We don't normally allow pets in here, but...if you keep him out of sight and quiet, I think we can make an exception," the woman said, a kind smile on her face.

"Thanks! I'll be sure to keep him under wraps." Amelia winked, a mischievous grin on her face. "Hey, you two ready to order or what?" she asked, addressing Francis and Ivan.

After they had ordered and their waitress had hurried off, conversation dropped almost immediately. A cloud of awkwardness seemed to descend on the booth they were sitting at; the only sounds, besides those of the rest of the diner, was Amelia slurping her drink.

"So...what have you two been up to since the last...job?" Francis asked, adding some sugar to his coffee. "Not causing any trouble, hm?"

"What trouble? This is the first that I've been out of that place in _days_! There's nothin' to do there either...so, pretty much, we just end up arguing," Amelia replied with a shrug of her shoulders, chewing on her straw. "Most of the time I don't even know what the hell we're yelling at each other for."

Ivan opened his mouth to tell Amelia that they argued mainly because of an inane comment of hers, but stopped when he felt someone watching him. He looked over his shoulder, scanning the room for anyone looking his way. His eyes quickly found their waitress staring at him intensely, only to have her gasp and run off out of his sight once she saw that he had noticed her staring.

_That's...odd. I don't think I know her, but she seems...familiar. If she's an agent, she's not one that I know...Best to keep an eye on her anyway, though. I didn't get this far just to make a foolish mistake_, Ivan thought, making a visual sweep of the diner for exits if something should go wrong.

"Yo, Earth to commie, did you hear what I just said?" Amelia asked loudly, snapping her fingers in front of the Russian's face to get his attention.

Ivan blinked at the movement, his eyes narrowing in annoyance at the distraction. "What do you want, American?" he growled in a low voice, turning his eyes back to searching for the waitress.

"Jeez, not a morning person are ya, Red? If you're lookin' for the john, it's over that way," Amelia said in a teasing tone, pointing a little ways down the diner to the restrooms.

Ivan made a face. "That's not what-" he stopped himself mid-sentence, his attention caught when he saw the woman talking fervently to a man with salt and pepper hair. _How...No, it couldn't be. It has to be a coincidence...but coincidences are very rare in this line of work_, Ivan thought in disbelief.

The salt and pepper haired man turned his head slowly, looking over his shoulder at Ivan. His icy eyes narrowed in recognition, his mouth drawn into a thin line on his haggard face. The man locked gazes with Ivan, allowing just a split second for him to confirm who it was.

Nikolai Zima, agent Winter. One of the few people that Ivan both respected and loathed in this world. Ivan could feel his blood boil just at the sight of the other man.

"Actually, I think I will go to the restroom...Thank you for pointing out where it is, American," Ivan replied in a deadly calm voice, a cold grin plastered onto his face.

Amelia gave an uninterested shrug as the Russian got up from the table.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to just let him walk off like that? I did not like the look he had on his face...," Francis asked, anxiously watching the larger man walk away.

"Relax. It's not like he could get out through a bathroom window anyway, the dude's just too big for that. Unless you want to go in there after him and watch him do his business - which totally wouldn't give you away - I think you should just sit tight. Though, knowing you, you'd probably want to see his-"

"Aha, there's no need for that, mon cher! I trust your judgement...for the most part," agent France cut Amelia off, remembering his last painful experience with the Russian when he had tried to get..._personal_.

Amelia smirked. "Thought so."

The two agents never noticed the man that had been talking with their waitress get up and head to the restrooms after Ivan.

* * *

><p>"I know you're in here, boy. Why don't you stop playing games and face me like a man? I believe I taught you better than to corner yourself," Nikolai said in a gruff voice, addressing the seemingly empty restroom.<p>

"Hm, I don't think I'm cornered. Quite the opposite, actually. You always seemed to prefer traps...so I figured this would appeal to you more, however hastily constructed it is," Ivan countered, stepping out from one of the stalls. "How long are you going to keep calling me a boy? I think we're far past that time."

"I will call you what I wish, _boy_. I see you've turned out to be quite the pain in The Foundation's side...You shouldn't have left, Ivan," Nikolai replied, his eyes fierce.

"Give me one Goddamned reason I should have stayed!" Ivan growled, a hand reaching into his jacket to grasp his gun.

_So that I could protect you, you idiot! Why can you not see it?_ Nikolai went silent, locking his eyes with his son's. _How I wish I could tell you...it would only break you further, though._ "You were The Foundation's best, is that not reason enough? You could have accomplished so many great things...if only you hadn't been so weak and short-sighted. You were a very expensive experiment, boy. Did you really think that you could ever really get away from us?" he answered, watching the younger man closely.

Ivan faltered slightly at this answer. It was what he expected, but actually hearing it made everything too real. "What a reason...Angel of Death in a world choking on its own blood. That sounds like something worth living for, doesn't it?" he spat, regaining his composure. He retrieved his gun from its holster in his jacket, calmly aiming it at the other man.

Nikolai didn't even blink at the weapon pointed at him. "Yes, it is. The Foundation has a purpose, do you?" he asked in a serious tone, taking a step towards Ivan.

Ivan retreated a step, keeping as much distance as he could from the older man, and let out a barking laugh. "The Foundation's only purpose is to cause as much death and suffering as possible. My purpose isn't that much different, though my target is. I fully intend to be the downfall of The Foundation and everything it stands for," he answered, a crooked grin on his face.

Nikolai shook his head. "This is a very dangerous game that you're playing, Ivan. And your opponent does not take kindly to losing," he growled, slowly reaching into his coat.

* * *

><p>Amelia looked back over her shoulder again, hoping that she hadn't made a mistake letting the Russian out of her sight. <em>He couldn't of gotten away...I don't think there are even any windows in that bathroom...but...it has been a while.<em>

Tony poked his head out from under Amelia's bomber jacket, making a little snorting noise as he looked around. Faster than Amelia could react, the little pug dog slipped off of her lap and ran off towards the bathrooms.

"Ack! Tony, no! Get back here, you're supposed to be in stealth mode!" Amelia exclaimed in a semi-hushed voice, scrambling after the dog.

The pug looked back at the American for a moment before pushing the door to the bathroom open and scampering inside.

"You've gotta be kidding me! He's not getting any of my pancakes when I get him back, that's for sure," Amelia huffed as she started to push the door open.

* * *

><p>"And why would I listen to you? You've done nothing but lie to me since I can remember," Ivan spat, keeping his gun trained on agent Winter, watching the other's movements carefully. It was clear that he was reaching for a weapon, but whether it was for close or ranged combat was what he needed to know.<p>

"I don't expect you to believe a word I say, but I expect you to use your head. You shouldn't of stayed in one place for so long, it was a foolish decision. It never crossed your mind that those smugglers you integrated yourself with would stab you in the back?" Nikolai asked, a sneer on his face.

"They don't pose any threat to me; they've just been providing me with some protection. Clearly they did a good job of it if it took you this long to find out my whereabouts," Ivan replied calmly, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Ah, yes, of course. They wouldn't be able to even touch you...you, the human weapon of The Foundation. Arrogance gets you killed, fool," Nikolai said, his tone full of disapproval.

"Don't call me that! I am no longer their weapon, and I never will be again. Besides, The Foundation didn't send agents after me to kill me, they want to use me. Killing me would just be an incredible waste of their time and money. I can see that they are getting desperate if they sent you to help that American," Ivan retorted angrily.

The two men's attentions were drawn to the door as it was pushed open, a little gray flash speeding into the room. Ivan was caught off guard when the little pug dog, Tony, jumped up at him. He stepped back, trying to avoid the dog, but tripped and fell backwards. Agent Winter took this unplanned distraction and pulled out the tranquilizer gun that he had been reaching for in his jacket, aiming it at Ivan.

"Hold it right there, scumbag! The hero is here!" Amelia exclaimed loudly as she made a rush at agent Winter. She had heard raised voices coming from the restroom, and had listened in for a moment. Though, she would admit, she couldn't hear a whole lot of what was being said.

Amelia grabbed Nikolai's wrist and twisted it, trying to get him to drop the gun.

Nikolai hissed as he heard a crack from his wrist, but he kept his hold on the gun. He broke free from Amelia's hold and quickly retreated out of the bathroom.

"And the hero prevails again!" Amelia crowed, doing a victory pose. She turned and looked down at Ivan, a quizzical expression on her face. "What're you doin' on the floor with Tony?" she asked.

Ivan sat up, dislodging the pug from his sitting position on the Russian's chest, and gave Amelia a cold glare. "Why did you interfere?! I had the situation completely under control!" he burst out angrily, getting to his feet.

"Yeah, that's exactly why you were knocked back on your butt, dumbass," Amelia said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Why can't you just admit that you needed my help? You've got a real problem with that," she asked in a slightly exasperated tone.

"I don't need help! I've never needed anyone's help, and I certainly don't need _yours_. I'm not a child, I've survived on my own for this long; I will not allow myself to become dependent on others," Ivan retorted testily, returning his gun to his jacket. _I had him pinned, then the stupid American just had to stick her nose in! I'll never get another chance like that again..._

"Dude, calm down. You're gonna set the place on fire with that look. Why don't we just go back to the table and pretend that this didn't happen. Hopefully, no one else noticed any of this," Amelia said, trying to defuse the situation. She didn't need to get the Russian more agitated than he already was by arguing.

Ivan chuckled, though it sounded very stressed. "You have no idea what you just did," he said, giving Amelia a crooked grin. He gave the pug a glare before leaving the restroom.

"Whatever," Amelia muttered, picking up the small dog. "You, bad dog. You only get a little bit of pancakes, alright? You're just lucky that I can't stay mad at you for very long," she huffed, holding the dog out in front of her to look him in the eye.

As Amelia came out of the bathroom, she looked around to see if anyone had noticed the commotion. She let out a breath when she saw that there were hardly any people in the diner. _Well, that was a lucky break_, she thought, making her way back to the booth they were seated at. Amelia quickly hid Tony under her jacket again as she sat down.

"Aw, man! My pancakes are cold! This is all your fault, Red," Amelia whined, ripping off a piece of a pancake to give to the pug dog while pouting at Ivan.

Ivan grunted, turning to look outside the window they were seated next to.

Amelia frowned, wanting to get a bit more of a reaction than that, but she wasn't going to push it.

Francis sighed, shaking his head at the other two. _Why are these two making my quest to show them L'Amour so difficult? I won't give up, but I wish they wouldn't struggle so_, he thought, taking a sip of his coffee.

* * *

><p>"Alright, are you guys ready to leave? Tony's getting a little restless," Amelia asked, shifting the fidgety dog in her lap.<p>

"Oui, we should probably be heading out. We wouldn't want Tony running off again, now would we?" Francis chuckled, eyeing the small dog.

The three agents made their way to the diner exit, not in any real hurry. Amelia was chattering on to Francis about what had happened in the restroom, while Ivan trailed behind. They were almost to the door when someone grabbed Ivan's arm.

"Vanya...don't you recognize me? I-I'm your sister," Katyusha, their waitress, asked in a quiet voice, tears at the edges of her eyes.


	14. Pieces of a Heart

"What did you say?" Ivan asked in disbelief, stopping in his tracks.

"I-I'm your s-sister...Don't you know who I am, Vanya?" Katyusha asked in a pleading voice, tears running down her face. _Why? Why doesn't he remember me? Oh...little Vanya..._, she thought desperately to herself, trying to think of a way to jog his memory.

"I...don't think I know you. You must be...mistaken," Ivan said, trying to figure out who this woman could possibly be. He didn't think that he had ever met her in his life, but she seemed so _familiar_.

Katyusha nibbled on her bottom lip nervously, eyes shifting back and forth as she thought. Then her eyes found the old scarf that the other was wearing, the one that _she_ had given to him when they were children.

"I gave this scarf to you when we were little...You wouldn't ever put on your jacket back then, even when Mama told you to, so I thought that this would help a little bit. You always liked it when I wore it, so I didn't mind giving it to you...Besides, Mama would scold you less if you wore it when it was cold out," Katyusha said, fidgeting with her hands, her eyes looking everywhere but at Ivan.

Ivan froze at the woman's words.

_"Ivan, I thought I told you to put on your jacket...You're going to make yourself sick if you don't wear something warmer outside," a woman chided in a tired voice._

Ivan couldn't seem to see this woman's face clearly, even though he knew that he was looking right at her in this memory.

_"But I haven't gotten sick yet, Mama! I want to go out and play!" the little boy whined, jumping up and down excitedly by the back door of the small house they lived in._

_"What if I give Vanya my scarf, Mama? Will that be good enough for him to play outside for a little while?" Katyusha asked, offering her light pink scarf._

_The faceless woman sighed, sitting down at a table. "Alright, that's fine. But only for a little while, mind you," she answered, rubbing her right temple like she had a headache._

_"Yay! Katya, let's go outside!" Ivan cheered, tugging on his older sister's hand._

_"Wait, wait! You need to put the scarf on...and I need a jacket if we're going outside," Katyusha reminded him, easily pulling him back to her room so that she could get a jacket without him running out._

_Ivan waited with uncharacteristic patience for his sister, an eager look on his face._

_"Okay, now put this on or Mama won't let you outside," Katyusha said, holding out her scarf to her little brother._

_"But I can't really take that, Katya, that's your favorite scarf! Mama made it for you, so I can't take it," he reasoned, surprised that his older sister would actually give it to him when she wouldn't even let him touch it before. Never mind the fact that he had mud all over his hands when he had tried to grab onto it._

_"It's okay, you can have it. You need it more since you don't put on your jacket like you should. I don't want you getting sick," Katyusha replied, wrapping the scarf around the younger boy's neck._

"Katya...?" Ivan breathed out, voice shaky.

"Yes, yes! Katya...your sister," Katyusha blubbered, her face lighting up with happiness.

"Hey, Red, what's holdin' you?" Amelia asked loudly from halfway out the door, interrupting the other two. Agent France seemed to have already left the diner and headed into the parking lot.

"Could you give me a few seconds here? Alone?" Ivan asked the American, an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Uh, sure, I guess. I'll be outside...just don't take too long," Amelia replied, taken aback by the Russian's sudden mood change. She stepped out of the diner, taking a look back over her shoulder. _I've got a bad feeling... _Amelia shook her head at the thought. _Pfft, it's probably just those bran flakes I ate before._

Ivan waited until he could see Amelia walking away from the diner to turn his attention back to Katyusha. "I, uh...," he started, but found that he didn't know what to say at all. If this woman _was _telling the truth and she was his older sister, he just didn't know how to handle it. It had been years - most of his life, in fact - since he had last seen her.

"I can't believe that it's really you! I...I never thought that I'd ever see you again...You probably have some questions you want to ask, would you like to talk outside? It'll be a bit more private," Katyusha said, not really giving Ivan a choice as she tugged him out the door.

Ivan allowed the woman to pull him along, trying to think of something to say. He couldn't seem to think at the moment, so nothing was coming to mind.

Katyusha bit her lip, her eyes downcast. She felt horrible for what was going to happen, but Nikolai said that it was the only way to get Ivan to come with them. From what the older man had told her about The Foundation, she believed him, but it still felt like a breach of trust to her.

* * *

><p>Amelia watched the two exit the diner and start talking, still getting this feeling that something was a bit off. She settled down a little further in the passenger's seat of the car, making to buckle her seat-belt when something caught her attention from out of the corner of her eye.<p>

"What the? Wait a sec...it's that guy from the bathroom!" Amelia exclaimed, straightening up in her seat.

"Who?" Francis asked, a confused look on his face as he followed the American's line of sight.

"You know! The guy...from the bathroom...that I heroically took down! Him!" Amelia blurted out, gesturing wildly at the man that was currently drawing closer to agent Russia.

* * *

><p>Ivan mutely listened to the woman blabber on about stuff that supposedly happened during their childhood, not really paying that close of attention. He had this feeling that something was wrong with this entire situation. He was just about to interrupt the woman's ramblings and tell her that he remembered almost none of what she was talking about, but stopped when he caught some movement out of the corner of his eye.<p>

"You-" Ivan bellowed, cutting himself off when agent Winter fired the tranquilizer gun that he had aimed at Ivan. Ivan gritted his teeth as he felt the small dart embed itself in his arm, almost immediately feeling its effects. He felt numb within a few seconds, his vision seemed to blur together, and he couldn't seem to keep his balance any more.

Agent Winter quickly moved to support Ivan, making sure he didn't collapse so as not to draw any attention. "Damn it, boy, why did you have to get so _heavy_? You seem able to make everything more difficult than it has to be...even when you don't do it consciously," Nikolai growled under his breath, shifting his hold on the other to get a better grip.

"You...son of a...," Ivan muttered in a drug-slurred voice, finally losing consciousness and going completely limp.

"D-Do you need h-help?" Katyusha asked nervously, fiddling with a button on her blouse.

"No...just get in the car," Nikolai replied gruffly, walking the now unconscious Russian to a silver car. _I'm getting too damn old for this shit._

* * *

><p>Amelia watched in horror as the older man shot agent Russia, though it didn't appear to have been an actual gun; they would have heard the gunshot. She sat there, stunned, watching as the man got into a silver car, taking the Russian with him.<p>

"Francis! Follow that car!" Amelia shouted, snapping out of her shock and doing the same for agent France.

Francis started up the car and sped off after the silver one without a second thought.

_Shit...shit, shit, shit! I shouldn't of left him alone, I shouldn't of even let him talk to that woman! What the hell was I thinking?! Stupid...so freaking stupid! _Amelia mentally berated herself, balling her hands into fists.

* * *

><p>Agent England sucked in a shaky breath, not used to the whole snooping part of being an agent. He had never actually done any field missions, as it were, so this was all very nerve-racking. The fact that he was sneaking into the Commissioner's personal office didn't help one bit.<p>

After meeting with the Commissioner to get clearance for a raid party, Arthur had this sense that something sinister was going on in The Foundation. Some things just weren't adding up in his head.

Why _had_ Amelia been chosen for this particular mission? It wasn't that she was incapable of doing it, but there were just so many more experienced agents that could have been assigned to do it. So, why agent America? Why use an agent that just completed their training over a veteran for such a high-profile mission? It just didn't make sense.

Arthur had tried to find any files that might pertain to agent Russia, but, as he expected, he found nothing. He did, however, find a file that mentioned something about the human weapon experiment that The Foundation started. The file seemed like it was a rough idea of what they thought it would be, as well as what they would use said human weapon for. The small file didn't go into very much detail, but it said that the Commissioner had more information on the subject.

So, here he was, sneaking around the Commissioner's office trying to find files that might not even exist.

"What the bloody hell am I doing? This was such an idiotic idea - hold on. What's this?" Arthur muttered to himself, his hands finding a small button under the great oak desk he had been rifling through. He pressed the button, flinching a little when a door opened up on the right side of the desk.

Arthur crouched down next to the compartment, searching it. The wooden desk had been hollowed out and lined with fireproof metal on the inside. He quickly pulled out the files that had been stored in the hollowed out desk, surprised that he had actually found what he had been looking for.

"I can't believe I actually found these! I thought that they had been destroyed...Apparently, the old bugger kept these all to himself. There's definitely something strange going on here," Arthur said under his breath, tucking the files away into the bag he had brought with him.

He quickly closed the compartment door, careful to put everything back where he had found it. Arthur hurried out of the dark office, trying to keep himself from running down the hallway that led away from the room. He was almost back to his quarters when he knocked into somebody, crashing to the floor. "What the devil?!" he blurted out, trying to untangle himself from the other person.

"M-Maple! I'm sorry! I-I wasn't watching where I was going," a quiet voice apologized meekly, a young woman looking at him through strawberry blonde locks.

Arthur got to his feet and offered his hand to the woman. "No, no. I'm at fault just as much for not paying attention to where I was going. Allow me to apologize...?" he trailed off, not really knowing who he was addressing.

"Oh, Madeline...Madeline Jones," she answered, giving him a shy smile as he helped her to her feet.

"Madeline...Jones? You...wouldn't happen to be related to Amelia Jones, would you?" Arthur asked, looking at the girl closely.

"Yes, actually. She's my twin sister. You're Arthur Kirkland, right? Aside from Amelia talking about you a lot, we _have _met before," Madeline said in a slightly disappointed voice.

"Oh, we have?" Arthur asked in confusion. He thought hard for a moment before remembering who the other was. "Ah, yes...we have. Sorry about that, I just couldn't seem to place you for a second there, but I know who you are...now. How have you been?"

"Alright, I guess. I still haven't been assigned to any missions yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time. It's not like they forgot about me, eh," she replied optimistically, fidgeting with her glasses.

"Of course they haven't forgotten! But...don't be too quick to want to go out on a mission, Madeline. There are many things that come with going on a mission, and it's not always glory and success," Arthur said softly, suddenly reminded of what agent China had told him.

"I know that missions can be dangerous, but I think that risking my life to try and make this a better world for others to live in is worth it," Madeline said, her eyes drawn to the bag that was slung over Arthur's shoulder. "What's in that, eh?" she asked, pointing to the bag.

Arthur nearly choked, hoping that he could avoid this sort of question. _Oh...you know, just some files that I stole from the Commissioner's office...that's all_, he thought sourly to himself. Then, an idea struck him. "Madeline...do you think I could ask your help in something? I'd be very grateful if you agreed...," he asked, emerald eyes searching her ocean blue ones.

"Um, sure, I guess. What do you need help with?" she answered uncertainly.

"It involves Amelia..."


	15. Ice on the Water

Berwald Oxenstierna,agent Sweden,quietly made his way to the front door of the old safehouse that agent Russia was suppossed to be in. He had been one of the agents chosen by the Commissioner to be in the raid party. He took this mission like he did all of the others he had gone on;with utmost seriousness and caution. Unfortunately,not everyone in this group was doing so.

"Come on,let's do this already! I wanna take this guy down! We've been staking the place out for hours now," Simon Densen,agent Denmark,shouted as he trotted up alongside Berwald.

"D'you w'nt to g't sh't?" Berwald muttered,glaring at the spiky haired man. He had never really gotten along with Simon in the first place,but the man was just being an ass now.

"Sorry,what did you say? Can't understand a thing that comes out of your mouth,Berry!" Simon smirked,taking his gun from its holster.

"Come on,you two,this is no time to be arguing! We need all our wits about us if we're going to do this mission successfully. Agent Russia isn't someone that you should take lightly," Tino Vainamomen,agent Finland,said through the headsets that they wore. Tino was in the van that was parked on the other side of the street,keeping surveillance of the area.

"Yeah,yeah. Let's just do this," Simon said,taking a look at the windows only to find them shuttered.

Berwald gave a slight nod,preparing to knock in the door.

"Three,two,one...," Tino counted off,checking the streets for any activity.

Berwald kicked in the door,gun at the ready. He quickly followed in after Simon,securing the first room that they came into.

* * *

><p>"Okay...so what's the plan,Amelia? There's only the two of them,that I can see,and the woman doesn't seem like the man. I don't think she has any sort of training,so she might just be a hostage," Francis said,watching Amelia closely as they waited outside of the apartment that agent Russia had been taken to.<p>

"Well,since it's basically just that old guy,I think we can take 'em. I say we go in there and just wing it," Amelia replied,getting her gun out.

"Wing it...Amelia,I don't think that's a very good idea. This man seems very experienced,he took down agent Russia without much problem," the Frenchman pointed out,looking towards the apartment thoughtfully.

"He was distracted...there's no way that old guy could have done that if Ivan hadn't been talking with that waitress! If you don't want to come along that's fine,but I'm going in there!" Amelia retorted,getting out of the car angrily.

Francis quickly followed her. "I'm not going to let you go in there alone,mon cher. I just wanted to make sure that you had thought this through,alright? You know what Arthur would do to me if he knew I had let you do something so risky by yourself," he said in a calm voice,reaching for his gun as the two approached the door.

"I know,but I just want to show you guys that I can do this! Okay...let's go," she sighed,reaching for the doorknob. To her surprise,the door opened before she even had a chance to check if it was actually unlocked. Amelia jumped back,aiming her gun at the man that had opened the door.

"It didn't take you two very long,did it?" the man said matter-of-factly. He looked at the guns that were aimed at him for a moment before moving aside. "There's no need for those,I am not armed. This was just one way to get you all here unharmed...We have much to discuss," he said,putting his hands up to show that he had no weapons.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" Francis asked,bewildered at the turn of events. He didn't lower his gun.

"I mean what I said,Francis Bonnefoy,agent France. I am Nikolai Zima,agent Winter. The two of you are in some very serious danger," the man replied harshly,moving further into the apartment.

Amelia and Francis exchanged suspicious looks before cautiously entering after the other man.

"Where's Ivan?" Amelia demanded forcefully,watching the salt and pepper haired man carefully.

"So,you're on a first name basis with agent Russia,hmm? That's quite interesting. You must be Amelia Jones...agent America,am I correct?" Nikolai asked,a cold look on his face as he locked gazes with Amelia.

"How do you know who we are? I've never even heard of an agent Winter in The Foundation!" Amelia burst out,keeping her gun trained on the man.

"I've heard of you...You're one of the Commissioner's agents,aren't you?" Francis asked,lowering his gun slightly.

"What? Seriously? Why haven't I heard of him?" Amelia asked,switching her attention to agent France.

"That doesn't surprise me at all. John Mortimer is a man of many secrets. He keeps his most valued agents close to him,as much as he possibly can," Nikolai growled,sitting down in a chair.

"John Mortimer...? But...Mortimer is-"

"Yes,you know him as the leader of that weapons smuggling ring,but that is just a guise. That entire smuggling ring is a fabrication. He had created it as a lure for agent Russia when he defected,to keep track of him and continue his training without forcing him back to The Foundation," agent Winter explained,cutting off Amelia's outburst.

"A fabrication? But..then why was I assigned to keep tabs on them?" Francis asked,completely shocked.

"All a test. The Commissioner wanted to see if agent Russia could recognize you,even with his limited contact with you in the past. It was also to see how he would handle his work,knowing that there was a Foundation agent watching his movements," Nikolai answered,icy eyes carefully scrutinizing the two agents.

"Okay,so,if you are this agent Winter dude and you're one of the Commissioner's personal agents...why are you doing this? It kinda seems like you're going behind his back with this stuff," Amelia asked,lowering her gun,but not returning it to its holster.

Agent Winter was silent,a strange look passing over his features. "I have my reasons...which I don't believe I need to disclose to you,agent. Do not speak to me of loyalty when you don't even know who it is that you answer to," he hissed,fury blazing in his eyes.

"Why should we really believe anything that you say? You've not really given us any good reason to trust you," Francis said,looking around the room they were in. It seemed quite nice,actually. It was small,but in a cozy sort of way.

"I suppose I haven't. Trust me or not,you need my help...The Foundation was installed in the goverment in 1961. It was headed by a man named John Mortimer,an excellent undercover operative,and was backed by many others in the government. The general puplic was never to be aware of The Foundation or its activities. It operates much the same as it does today,though it was under the government's control back then," agent Winter explained,a serious look on his pale face.

"I'm sure that you've at least heard of the human weapon experiment,agent America," Nikolai said bluntly,his attention honing in on Amelia.

"Yeah...it was mentioned once,I think. I was told that agent Russia was trained to be the perfect agent,right?" she answered,thinking back to when she had been briefed on the mission.

"Essentially,yes. Though perfection comes very rarely,I would say that agent Russia was as close to that as I have ever seen. He was flawless in missions," Nikolai said in an almost fond tone,his eyes softening slightly.

"What happened? If he was as great an agent as we've been hearing...why did he leave?" Amelia asked,noticing the way that agent Winter spoke of Ivan.

The look in Nikolai's eyes left as quickly as it came,and the sharp calculation rushed back in. "The Foundation's training for the experiment was harsh,it was necessary. He could carry out what was needed physically,but he lacked the mental ability to detach himself completely from what he was doing. It was a simple enough thing to do...but he couldn't seem to rectify this problem. It was a weakness that caused severe problems in his missions later on," he growled,an edge in his voice.

"Weakness? Is being human considered a weakness?" Amelia burst out,anger in her sapphire eyes.

Nikolai raised an eyebrow at what Amelia said,surprised that she would defend agent Russia. He rose from his seat,keeping eye contact with the American as he walked up to her,stopping just in front of Amelia. "If I were you,I would figure out whose side I was on. Are you going to help someone that desperately needs you,or will you go back to those who ordered your death?" he asked,an unreadable expression on his face.

"What? The Foundation didn't-" Francis started to interject,but shut his mouth at the cold look from agent Winter.

"Why do you think they would send a new agent out on such an important mission?" agent Winter asked,his attention back on Amelia.

Amelia went silent,listening closely to the older man.

"You were sent on a suicide mission. You were just another test for agent Russia. Think about it for a while...You may find that what you believe to be true is a complete lie," Nikolai said,turning to leave.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Amelia blurted,still not completely convinced by what agent Winter said. "We're not done here!"

"Indeed we're not,but I have something that needs taking care of. If you value your lives,you'll still be here when I return," agent Winter replied,closing the door behind him.

* * *

><p>Arthur couldn't believe what he was seeing in these files. They went back to the year of 1993,when the human weapon experiment was started. It contained all of the information on agent Russia's training and missions. But,that wasn't all that was in these files.<p>

"What does this mean,Arthur? Should we contact Amelia and tell her about this?" Madeline asked in a worried tone,looking up from one of the reports that she had been reading.

"Yes...we should,but I don't trust any of The Foundation's resources. We have to get out of here and warn her ourselves," Arthur said slowly,thinking.

"B-But,how are we going to do that?" she asked,putting the report back into one of the files. "Someone will notice us if we try to leave."

Arthur was silent in thought,trying to think of a way to get out of The Foundation's headquarters. It wouldn't be easy,that was for sure. There were agents everywhere,cameras,alarms,and all sorts of other ways that they could get caught by.

"I might know someone that will help us...It's risky,but we don't have much of a choice right now," Arthur spoke up,a serious expression on his face.

* * *

><p>After agent Winter left,Amelia thought about what they had been told. It could all be a lie,but that was an unlikely possibilty. Why would The Foundation do something like that? No,it was more than likely true,what agent Winter had said,and that unsettled Amelia.<p>

"Oh,I thought that I heard other voices in here! I'm sorry about any troubles that all this has caused,but Niki said it was the only way," the waitress from the diner apologized,bursting into the room in a somewhat clumsy fashion.

"Niki?" Francis inquired,an amused look on his face.

"Oh! Sorry,I suppose that I should be calling him agent Winter,yes?" she said,eyes going wide at her discrepancy.

"Non,it doesn't matter to us,mon cher. What I want to know...is your name," agent France said in a low seductive voice,grasping the woman's hands in his own.

The woman blushed,blinking in surprise. "Uh,Katyusha...," she answered in a somewhat embarrassed tone.

Amelia rolled her eyes.

"Ah,what a beautiful name! Katyusha...," Francis gushed out romantical phrases,but Amelia quickly tuned it out.

Amelia decided to take Francis' little distraction to her advantage and look around. _This place isn't very big...so Ivan's got to be here. We followed them right here,they couldn't of gone anywhere else_,she thought to herself as she walked into a dimly lit room.

She had walked into a small bedroom,lit by a lamp on a cramped nightstand. Amelia wouldn't admit that she felt a jolt of relief when she saw agent Russia on the bed,though that quickly sank when he didn't move.

Amelia hurried over to the side of the bed,shaking the other by the shoulder roughly;she remembered how hard it had been to wake him up before. "Hey,c'mon,this isn't funny...Wake up,you dumb commie!" she murmured,her voice unsteady.

* * *

><p>"What the...? There's no one here!" Simon exclaimed,a confused expression on his face.<p>

Berwald looked around the small room again,a scowl firmly in place. "T'no,I th'nk we g't some bad inf'rmation...Are you sure th't this w's the locat'n?" the Swede grumbled,eyes scanning the room carefully.

"Of course I'm sure,Berwald! I was given this location by agent Winter,who got it directly from the Commissioner. Have you guys searched everywhere?" the Finn asked in a baffled voice,going back to the file that he had on the computer that he was using. _It's possible that I got the address wrong,but...There it is! I got it right...so that means that somewhere along the line this information was tampered with._

"Duh,of course we looked everywhere,Tino! There's nothing much here!" Simon retorted in a whiney voice.

"We should leave as soon as possible if there's nothing here. No point in drawing more attention to ourselves than necessary," Tino sighed,a bit dissapointed.

"Wait,I w'nt to ch'ck these rooms again...j'st t' make sure," Berwald said,his eyes drawn to a small,almost imperceptable slit in the wall of the main room that they were in. He walked over to the wall,running his hand across the surface until he found an indentation near where the floor came up to meet the wall.

"What is it? Did you find something?" Simon asked,coming up behind the crouched blond.

Berwald gave a grunt of confirmation,standing up and stepping back as a section of the wall swung open with a soft click.

"Whoa,this guy was packin'...," the Dane breathed,looking into the hidden storage place with amazement.

"Well...it looks l'ke this w's where ag'nt Russ'a had been,but he's n't 'ere anym're. Let's rep'rt this to the Commission'r," Berwald muttered,eyeing the stockpile of weapons with a stoic expression.


	16. Winter's Chill

Ivan grimaced as he felt something wet against his face. He opened his eyes slowly,somewhat disoriented. He blinked several times,staring straight into unnerving bug-eyes.

Tony stared right back at him,tongue lolling out of his mouth. The pug dog made a soft sighing sound as he lowered himself down into a laying position on the Russian's chest,sniffing at the material of Ivan's shirt.

"Why can't you leave me alone,mutt?" Ivan groaned,picking the grungy dog up and holding it out away from his body.

The pug made an almost irritated noise,squirming around in Ivan's grip.

"Tony,there you are! I was just about to-" Amelia exclaimed happily as she came into the room,stopping when she saw that agent Russia was awake.

Tony quickly wriggled out of the Russian's hold,scampering off the bed and out of the room as Amelia stormed over.

"You! You no good,lousy,dumb-"

"Well,that's debatable..."

"Shut up,I'm ranting right now! Stupid-"

"Didn't you just call me dumb? That's a bit repeatative,don't you think?"

"Oversized,clueless,annoying...uh,jerk face!" Amelia yelled,hitting Ivan with every insult.

"Are you done yet,little American?" Ivan asked,once Amelia had stopped hitting him.

"No! You're a big clumsy commie and you annoy the hell out of me! You're such a jackass...why did I save you again?" Amelia added,sitting down on the bed with a huff.

"Hmm,sounds like you were worried about me," Ivan said in a teasing tone,mischief lurking in his eyes.

Amelia spluttered,trying to come up with a quick comeback. "I was not! I think that tranq messed with your head,big guy,'cause I was no where near worried about you! Heroes don't worry 'bout anything," she said,an indignant look on her face.

"Well,now you've hurt my feelings," Ivan said in a sarcastic tone,grinning at the American lopsidedly.

"Get over it,Red," she said,rolling her eyes. "So,how're you feelin'? That tranq must've been pretty powerful to keep you down for so long," Amelia asked,changing the subject.

Ivan thought for a moment. Aside from his shoulder aching a bit,he felt pretty good. "I'm fine,but how nice of you to ask," he replied,smirking at her.

"Geez,I was just askin'! Do you spend most of your time trying to come up with new ways to bug me?" Amelia exclaimed in an exasperated voice,shoving Ivan jokingly.

Ivan winced,rubbing his shoulder. It had been a while since he'd been shot,but it still hurt. He'd neglected it for a while,and it was just occuring to him that his shoulder might not be healing correctly.

Amelia noticed the Russian's actions,feeling a little bit guilty. "Sorry,I didn't mean to hurt you like that. Your shoulder still giving you some troubles?" she asked,an apologetic smile on her face.

"Nyet,its fine. Don't worry about it," Ivan replied,dropping his hand from his left shoulder.

"Yeah,right. When was the last time you changed the bandages?" Amelia asked in a disbelieving tone.

"That's none of your concern," he grumbled.

"Meaning you haven't. That could get infected,y'know. Here,let me take a look at it," Amelia offered,moving closer to Ivan.

"Nyet,don't. I told you,its fine," Ivan replied tersely,edging away from Amelia.

Amelia rolled her eyes,disregarding the Russian. "It won't take that long,and I can't make it any worse," she said,continuing to move closer to Ivan.

"That's not it...I just don't feel comfortable doing this right now," Ivan said,taking in his unfamiliar surroundings for the first time. _Where...are we?_ he wondered to himself.

"What? It's not like I haven't seen you without a shirt on before. I'm the one who bandaged it in the first place,remember? Stop being a baby about this," Amelia said in a slightly annoyed tone.

"Yes,stop acting like a child,Ivan. You should know by now how injuries can impede on one's performance in the field," a cold voice interrupted from the doorway,as agent Winter looked on disapprovingly.

Ivan reached for his gun,but quickly found that it had been taken.

Nikolai chuckled mirthlessly at his actions. "You honestly thought for a second that I wouldn't have...relieved you of your weapon? Seems you've forgotten a good amount of what I spent _years_ pounding into that thick skull of yours,boy," he said in an almost bitter tone.

"I don't need a weapon to kill you," Ivan growled,rising up from the bed angrily.

Agent Winter gave the younger man an unimpressed look. "Did I give you permission to speak? You need to shut your mouth and listen for once," he said in a low tone,ice prickling in his voice.

"You don't tell me what to do anymore,old man. You got lucky before,but now...now you die," Ivan retorted,a strange look coming into his eyes.

"Whoa,whoa! Cool down,Red! He's on our side...I think," Amelia exclaimed,jumping up between the two. _Geez,who shoved what up this guy's ass? _she thought,glaring at the older man.

"That's a lie! You don't know who he is,you don't know what he's capable of...You can't trust him!" Ivan spat,pushing the American aside.

Amelia quickly put herself in between them again,a determined look on her face. "Hey,at least listen to what he's got to say!" she yelled,shoving Ivan back a step. "I don't really trust him either,but we kinda need any information that he can give us."

"Taking orders from a rookie agent,boy? Just because she has a pretty face and treats you like you're more than you are...you've gone quite soft. I'm almost surprised that you figured out she was from The Foundation," Nikolai jabbed snidely,a deep glower on his face.

Amelia froze,shocked that agent Winter had just outed her and that it didn't seem to be anything new to Ivan. "You...but I...why the hell...," she spluttered,looking from Ivan to Nikolai in utter confusion.

"If you have something more constructive to say...say it now," Ivan ground out,barely keeping his anger in check.

"Not yet...There are still a few people missing from this little rebellion that need to be present. They shouldn't take much longer,though," agent Winter replied gruffly,turning and exiting the room.

Amelia and Ivan watched him leave,neither making a move to follow after him.

"You've known this whole time,haven't you?" Amelia asked,her blue eyes watching the Russian carefully. "You knew that I was from The Foundation. Why...why didn't you just-"

"Kill you?" Ivan cut her off,turning to look her in the eye. His body was still tense with anger,but his eyes were devoid of emotion.

Amelia surpressed a shiver. "Well,yeah. I mean,you had enough time and a lot of opportunity to do it...so why didn't you?"

Ivan was silent for a while,emotion returning to his eyes,running a hand through his hair in an effort to collect his thoughts and calm down. "I don't know...," he mumbled,letting out a frustrated sigh.

* * *

><p>Yao Wang sighed,putting away his phone. He had just been contacted by agent Winter,who brought him up to speed on what was happening,and was contemplating how to carry out his part of the plan.<p>

"That man can be so demanding,aru. How does he expect me to convince that foolish agent England to come with me? I'm not as young as I used to be...I shouldn't be doing this sort of thing anymore,aru," the Chinese man grumbled to himself,turning a corner to his own quarters.

"Open the bloody door,Yao! I know you're in there,so stop ignoring me!" a loud,British voice yelled.

Yao let out another sigh,seeing Arthur Kirkland and a young woman at the door to his room. "Aiyah,stop banging on my door like that! I just got it replaced...," he called out,thinking back on the incident sourly. Apparently,one of the agents-in-training had tried to break into his room...using small explosives. Yao still didn't know why the South Korean had tried to get into his room in the first place.

Arthur jumped slightly,whirling around to face the Asian man. "Oh,you're not in there...," he muttered in an embarrassed tone,rubbing the back of his neck.

"I told you he wasn't here,eh. I had seen him go into the archive room when we were heading over here," Madeline said softly,brushing some hair out of her eyes.

"Why didn't you say something?" Arthur demanded,rounding on the younger woman.

"But I did,eh! Several times,actually!" she replied,her voice raising ever-so-slightly.

"Really? I mustn't of heard you. You really should speak up a bit more,Mary," Arthur said,turning his attention back to Yao.

"M-My name's Madeline...," she sighed,shaking her head in frustration.

"So,is there a reason that you were trying to break down my door,aru?" Yao asked,ignoring the little altercation between the other two.

"I need to discuss something very important with you,Yao. It involves agent America," Arthur said in a secretive tone,glancing around the hallway.

Yao nodded,opening the door to his room and ushered the two younger agents inside. "I have some information for you as well," he said,locking the door behind them.

* * *

><p>"What do you mean you don't know? I was a threat,right? So,why wouldn't you get rid of me?" Amelia pressed further. She wasn't going to settle for the Russian dodging the question,not with this one.<p>

"There's no other way for me to put it,alright? You're just...I mean...I,uh," Ivan fumbled for words,turning slightly red in the face. _Shut up,just shut up right now and stop making a fool of yourself! Damn it...why does agent Winter always have to be right about me? I'm going soft..._

"Hey,you okay? You look a little feverish. I'll get you somethin' to drink,'kay?" Amelia said,trotting out of the room before Ivan could say anything.

Ivan let out a frustrated groan,running a hand vigorously over his face. There was something about the American that just set him off-balance,and he was finding to his surprise that he didn't quite mind it,though it could be somewhat inconvenient at times. He couldn't even pinpoint a specific thing about her that did this to him,it just seemed to be everything.

After pacing the room in agitated circles like a caged tiger,Ivan left the small bedroom and went into the main room of the apartment. After scanning the room and only seeing agents Winter and France,he decided to stay where he was and leaned against the doorframe,his mind still on Amelia.

Francis,upon seeing how agent Russia was glancing off in the direction of the kitchen,where Amelia had just gone,let a grin spread across his face. "Ohonhonhon-"

"Don't you even start. I'm not in the mood for your romantic assumptions. Unless you want me to cut off all of your fingers and force you to eat them,I suggest you not continue," Ivan threatened in a dark voice,eyes narrowed to ameythst slits.

"You can threaten me,but you can't threaten l'amour and expect it to go away! And,as an expert in all things concerning this delicate subject,I shall not be so deterred by your brutish actions. There's no way I could live with my beautiful self if I let the rose of love die while it still has yet to bloom! Fingers or not," Francis replied cheerily,all but prancing around the room,much to the distaste of Ivan and Nikolai.

* * *

><p><em>Geez,that agent Winter guy is a real ass. It's hard to tell if he's really on our side or not<em>,Amelia thought to herself as she headed into the small kitchen.

She was just about to open up the refridgerator when she heard a quiet sob from just behind her. Amelia turned around to see Katyusha sitting at a small two person table that was crammed up against the kitchen's farthest wall,crying her eyes out.

"Hey,what's wrong? Did Francis try to 'seduce' you?" Amelia asked,sitting down across from the other woman. "'Cause if he did do anything I can punch him for ya,if you want," she offered,fidgeting slightly. She always felt uncomfortable when people started to cry. Amelia had never really known how to handle emotional people.

"Oh,n-no,that's not it...," Katyusha replied tearily,jumping at Amelia's question. She hadn't noticed the blond come in.

"What is it then?" Amelia continued,wanting to make the other woman feel better.

"I...it's just...I haven't seen my little brother for eighteen years,and he's so different than I remember him as," Katyusha stammered out,wiping at her wet eyes. "A-And Niki is acting so-so cruel to Vanya. I-I've never seen him act like this before!"

"Wait,wait,wait! Are you talking about Ivan? You two are related?" Amelia exclaimed,nearly falling out of her seat in surprise.

"Yes...he's my younger brother. He never told you?" Katyusha asked in a hurt voice,sounding like she was going to start crying all over again.

"No,he didn't. I thought that you were either a hostage or another Foundation agent," Amelia answered,feeling a bit left out of the loop.

"Oh,no...I'm not an agent! I was saved from that life by Niki when I was twelve,along with my little sister Natalia...but now I can see that Vanya wasn't so fortunate. I've spent every day since we were seperated wondering what had happened to him,and now...now I wish I didn't know. I-I c-can't even l-look at him without c-crying!" Katyusha blubbered,fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

"H-Hey,don't start cryin' again,that's not gonna help anything," Amelia said in an unsure voice,still not knowing exactly how to handle this situation.

"Listen,I might not know everything that The Foundation's been doing,especially when it comes to Ivan,but I do know that you can't just sit in here crying and avoiding him. You guys are family,no matter how long you've been apart,and he needs you right now. Despite what he says or how tough he acts,he needs all of us to help him," Amelia said in a more confident tone,looking Katyusha in the eye.

"B-But,how can I help him? I'm not capable of the things that you or Niki can do-"

"You're right,you aren't anything like us...but that's exactly what he needs from you. If what I've been hearing about his past is true,then he's definitely lacking in the normal childhood department. I think he just needs something...y'know,normal...stable. Just be his big sis," Amelia said abruptly,flashing a smile.

Katyusha sniffled and nodded her head. "Do...do you have any siblings? I ask only because you seem to know how to deal with them very well. I'm afraid I never had much luck with Natalia," she asked,once again wiping tears from her eyes.

"Yup,sure do. I've got a twin sister,her name's Madeline,but I call her Maddie 'cause Madeline sounds too stuffy. You two would get along really great,I think. Maddie's real quiet,but she's really nice. Like,save the polar bears from global warming nice. She even has this old stuffed polar bear that our dad gave her when we were little," Amelia replied,feeling a little twinge of loneliness without her twin.

"Oh,she sounds nice! I look forward to meeting her one day. Amelia...I'm so happy that my brother found someone like you," Katyusha said,her cheery disposition returning quickly.

Amelia gave her a confused look. "Huh...what do you mean?" she asked slowly.

"You know. I saw you when you were in the room with him,when he was still unconcious. You stayed with him practically until he woke up. I was so happy to see that there was someone who cared for him and was worried about him," Katyusha replied happily.

Amelia nodded silently,thinking. _I...I guess I was a little bit worried,but...I mean,I don't like him or anything-I mean,I like him,but as a friend? That just doesn't sound right...I don't love him,do I? Naw,no,nope...that's not it,that can't be it...could it? _she thought,having a moment of self doubt.

"Amelia? Did I say something wrong? I'm sorry!" Katyusha apologized profusely,noticing the distressed look on the American's face.

* * *

><p>"What? What do you mean you couldn't find him?" John Mortimer shouted into his phone,rage burning in his aged eyes.<p>

_"I-I'm sorry,sir,but we went to the location and agent Russia wasn't there. We couldn't find any trace of agent America either. We did find-"_

The Commissioner slammed the receiver down,cutting off whatever agent Finland was going to say. He stood at his office desk for a moment,his body shuddering with anger. The old man took in one quick breath before grabbing the phone,reciever and all,and throwing it to the ground,successfully breaking it.

"So...I've been betrayed. Someone must have tipped them off...and I know who it was," he muttered to himself,his eyes drawn to the door of his office as it was opened.

"You called for me,Commissioner?" agent Mongolia asked,glancing pointedly at the ruined phone.

"Yes,I did. It seems as though agent Russia has slipped from The Foundation yet again. I need him back in our ranks by the end of the week,Nergui," the Commissioner growled,grasping the corner of his desk in a white-knuckled grip.

Nergui Altan-Burilgi smiled darkly,his eyes glistening madly in the blackness of the room. "Of course,sir. I would be most honored to carry out this mission for you. I will not return until I have agent Russia and the other rebel agents in my custody," he said,the grin on his tanned face widening in anticipation.

The Commissioner leveled a deadly glare at agent Monglia,his lips held in a tight line. "I will not accept any form of failure or delay on this mission. If you have not returned by Friday,you will not return at all,I can promise you that," he hissed.

Agent Mongolia nodded his acknowledgement and turned to leave.

"Oh,and don't bother in trying to bring Nikolai back alive...," the Commissioner said casually. "He's caused me enough troubles with his little family...his usefullness with The Foundation has run its course. Kill him," he ordered,a crooked smile playing on his cracked lips.

Nergui looked over his shoulder,an almost surprised look on his face. That soon changed to one of perverted joy. "Gladly,sir," he chuckled,exiting the room with increased enthusiasm.

The Commissioner eased his grip on the desk,settling down in his chair. "It is time...for Winter to meet his own cold death. I only wish I could be there to watch him breathe his last," he whispered to the dark.


	17. Forever and a Day

"Wait,you've known about all of this? Why didn't you say anything?" Arthur burst out angrily,grabbing agent China by the collar of his shirt.

Yao didn't seem fazed in the least. "We weren't sure if you could be trusted,aru. No one else knows of what we're doing,Arthur...," he said in a serious tone,looking the Brit straight in the eye.

"E-Excuse me,but what does any of this have to do with my sister Amelia,eh?" Madeline piped up,a concerned look on her face.

Yao shrugged off Arthur's grip on his shirt,his honey brown eyes softening as they came to rest on the younger woman. "Such love and devotion to your sister...that is a very good thing for a sibling to possess. Despite whatever disputes siblings may have,they are still family and are always there for one another when they need to be," he said in a soft voice,his eyes distant.

Agent China shook his head slightly,quickly dispelling old memories that threatened to surface in his mind. "Essentially,we don't think that Amelia had any real part to play in John Mortimer's human weapon experiment. She just happened to be an easy and willing sacrifice at the time," he answered,becoming serious once again.

"S-Sacrifice? For what?" Madeline asked in a stammering voice,completely shocked.

"It was sort of a final test,if you will,for agent Russia. You see,around ten years ago,agent Russia began to have...troubles during his missions. He would hesitate to start missions,stall when it came to torture or dispatching a target,and became distracted in and out of missions. This,of course,did not sit well with the Commissioner. He was actually quite furious at how agent Russia was performing in the field," Yao started,sitting down on his small bed.

"Yes,I read about some of that in one of the files. From what was described,it sounds like he had developed post traumatic stress disorder. The disruption of his sleep from night terrors,hallucinations that seemed to be of past missions...his...violent and sadistic tendencies towards fellow agents that he couldn't remember," Arthur murmured,looking deep in thought.

"Yes,it became a real problem,but it was never really addressed. The Commissioner refused to admit that there was something wrong with agent Russia after a while,and continued his training and using him in missions. Eventually,the poor boy snapped and he defected. I believe you know most of what has happened since then,aru," Yao continued.

"So...Amelia was sent in to see if he could...," Madeline trailed off,nibbling nervously on her bottom lip.

"Kill without any hint of hesitation...," Arthur breathed,looking over at Madeline. "We have to get Amelia to safety as soon as possible! There's no telling what agent Russia will do if we don't move now," he exclaimed,heading for the door.

"Wait,what are you doing,aru? You can't just leave without a plan! You don't know who might be watching and waiting for us to make a move," Yao hissed,jumping up from the bed and grabbing Arthur by the arm.

"I thought you said that no one else knew about what's been going on! I won't just stand by and do nothing while Amelia's in danger!" Arthur yelled,jerking free of the Chinese man.

"I have to agree with Arthur,eh. But...how can we get out of here without raising any suspicions?" Madeline asked,her voice steady and determined.

Yao turned to the young woman. "I was just about to explain the escape plan," he replied.

* * *

><p>Amelia let out a bored sigh,flipping through the stations on the television. Agent Winter had refused to say another word until the other people that he had mentioned were present. So,they were forced to stay where they were.<p>

"Ugh,I'm sooo tired of waiting! Can't you at least tell us who these people are?" Amelia whined,pouting childishly.

Nikolai gave her an annoyed look,his temper not holding up too well with the American's attitude. "For the last time...no. Why do young people always have to be so damned curious? It gets you into nothing but trouble the majority of the time," he growled,his lip curled up in anger.

Amelia shrugged,turning her attention back to the television.

Agent Winter closed his eyes,counting backwards from ten in his head to calm himself. _Bah,what does Ivan see in this little brat? _he thought,his icy gaze drifting over to the younger man.

Ivan was currently slouched in a chair at the table near the back of the room,his arms folded on top of its surface and his head resting on his arm. His half closed eyes lazily watched the flickering television screen,though it was obvious to Nikolai that he didn't really care about what was going on in the movie that Amelia had finally settled on.

_He's been pushing himself too hard...The idiot looks about ready to collapse. He never really did learn his own limits,among other things_,agent Winter thought solemnly to himself,his eyes returning to observing Amelia.

_She does remind me a little of - No. I should stop dwelling in the past,it does me no good._ Nikolai sighed heavily,reaching into his coat pocket for his lighter and a cigarette. As he lit the cigarette,he noticed Amelia's disapproving look.

"Geez,you too? Am I the only one here that thinks smoking is just plain nasty?" she huffed,rolling her eyes.

"What are you talking about? Smoking is relaxing," Nikolai muttered,returning the lighter to his coat pocket and taking a long drag from the cigarette.

"Yeah,lung cancer is great...," Amelia replied sarcastically.

"And why should you care about my health,brat?" agent Winter growled,exhaling smoke from his nose.

"I don't. Just thought I'd tell you what you're in for," Amelia said caustically. "And I'm not a brat! I just speak my mind!"

Agent Winter growled and got up from his seat,silently moving to stand in front of the American. He leaned close to her,so that they were almost nose to nose. "I want you to stop getting close to agent Russia,you are not helping him by showing him any kindness. He needs to stay alert,focused,and uncaring if he is to survive. He can't do that if he's staring after you like some lovestruck fool," Nikolai hissed,glaring at Amelia through a veil of smoke.

Ivan shifted his gaze from the television as he saw agent Winter stalk over to Amelia. His eyes narrowed when Nikolai leaned in towards the American and said something that Ivan couldn't hear. Ivan tensed with a feeling of protectiveness,but he willed himself to stay put. If Amelia looked like she needed his help,he would intervene.

Amelia surpressed a cough,matching the older man's glare. "Yeah,well,you're not helping by treating him like he's less than dirt either!" she retorted hotly,holding the other's gaze with fierce determination.

"I treat him the way I always have. If you see it as unfit,that is not my problem. He can handle it,and he certainly doesn't need you defending him," Nikolai muttered in a low voice,his icy eyes burning with a cold fire.

Amelia was about to continue arguing when she noticed a not so happy looking Ivan behind agent Winter.

"May I speak with you outside," Ivan growled,placing a hand on Nikolai's shoulder and forcing him away from Amelia.

Nikolai's eyes narrowed as he hit Ivan's hand away. "Since when do you order me around,boy? You may be bigger than the last time I saw you and I older than when you last saw me,but I can still handle you as easily as I did when you were scampering after me as a child. Do not test me,Ivan," he spat,taking a step forward.

"And you shouldn't test me. I'm not that little kid anymore,or hadn't you noticed? You're past your prime,Nikolai,and I honestly think that all of your talk is just that,talk," Ivan replied in a calm voice,a smirk on his face.

"You cocky little pup! Where would you be without me? I'm what kept you alive all these years! Do you really think that you could have survived on your own without the training you recieved from _me_? You would have died along with your mother if it hadn't of been for me,you ungrateful welp!" Nikolai bellowed,knowing the second after he said that he would regret it.

"What?" Ivan breathed,looking torn between confusion and anger.

Amelia sat by,completely shocked at what had just happened. The room had gone from being filled with angry shouts to almost complete silence in a matter of seconds. That was shattered when there was a resounding crash of glass.

Amelia,Ivan,and Nikolai turned to the source of the noise,seeing an utterly distraught looking Katyusha who had been bringing out a tray of drinks. She let out a little whimper before running back into the kitchen,tears streaming down her face.

Nikolai pushed past a rather cowed Ivan,hurrying after Katyusha. "Katya,come back here! I didn't mean it," he called after her,sounding almost desperate.

Ivan stared after agent Winter,looking somewhat broken. _How does he always manage to make me feel like a worthless,stupid little kid? _He lowered his eyes to the broken glass on the floor.

Francis came out of the kitchen,a concerned look on his face. "What happened in here? I was just starting on dinner - since it seems like we'll be here for a while - when Katyusha came running through crying,that agent Winter right behind her. And what was that crashing noise?" he asked,looking down just in time to avoid stepping on broken glass.

"Long story short,I think some people just pushed each other a little too far...," Amelia said uncertainly,glancing at Ivan.

Francis looked back over his shoulder towards the kitchen. "Ah...I see. Well,I should clean this up before anyone hurts themselves," he sighed,starting to pick up the broken mugs that lay scattered on the floor.

Ivan tore his gaze from the broken glass,turning on his heel and heading out the door,slamming it shut behind him.

Amelia let out a frustrated exhalation,sitting on the edge of the couch. She was caught between going and giving that agent Winter a _real_ piece of her mind,staying out of it and helping Francis,or going after Ivan. She noticed the look that Francis was giving her.

Francis was gesturing at the door. _Go on,go after him._

Amelia gave a helpless shrug of her shoulders. _What the hell would I say? I don't know how to handle this!_

Francis' look turned serious,and he arched an eyebrow at her. _That doesn't matter! Just go out there;be there! You can tear agent Winter a new one later!_

Amelia rolled her eyes and pouted. _Geez,you sound like Iggy. Only he wouldn't put it quite like that. It'd sound way more British and would have a lot more swearing in it._

Francis gave her a stern look. _Stop stalling,Amelia. _His expression turned a bit softer. _And I do not sound anything like that uncouth tea-sipper. Now,off with you. _He waved a manicured hand at her,giving her a wink.

Amelia stood up and went to the front door,her hand lingering on the doorknob. She took in a deep breath,not really knowing why she suddenly felt so nervous,and opened the door.

* * *

><p><em>Alright,calm down...calm down. This is nothing,just a simple stroll into the communications room to steal some equipment...that's all. Bugger it all,we're not even going to make it out of headquarters to help Amelia<em>,Arthur thought to himself pessimistically.

Agent China had explained that their transportation was all ready,they just needed to get out of The Foundation's headquarters. This,of course,was no trifling matter. Yao had assigned Arthur the task of gathering phones that didn't have any tracking technology in them,as well as any other equipment that might come in handy.

Madeline had gone with Yao to speak with Agent Norway,who was the head of the information sector,to get clearance on the phony mission that had been established for their getaway. All they had to do was get the Norwegian's approval,and then they could leave unchallenged. Hopefully.

Amelia shivered in the cold wind that blasted her as soon as she left the warmth of the apartment. She looked around the second floor of the apartment building for the span of a few heartbeats before spotting Ivan sitting on the top step of the building's stairs.

She approached quietly,sitting down next to the Russian. "So...what was all that about,huh? It got pretty tense back there,and I think I'm missing a good part of all this," Amelia said in a light tone,gesturing to nothing in particular.

Ivan glanced at her from out of the corner of his eye for a moment,then shifted his gaze back to his boots.

When the Russian didn't say anything,Amelia huffed and swiveled around so that she was facing him directly. When he still didn't appear to acknowledge her,Amelia crossed her arms and plopped her legs onto his lap.

"What do you want?" Ivan muttered,amethyst eyes seeming to glow in the almost darkness outside.

"Talk to me,you dumb bear! Tell me what the hell just happened back there!" Amelia said in exasperation,pushing her glasses up further on her face. "And don't just say it was nothin','cause that wasn't nothin',big guy."

Ivan sighed,fingering the laces on Amelia's shoes. "I...just lost control back there. Agent Winter and I never really got along...It was just me trying to get a reaction out of him," he replied,still keeping his attention on the shoe laces.

Amelia thought for a moment,reclining against the stucco wall that was to her back. "Well,I'd say you accomplished that."

Ivan chuckled at that. "Da...I suppose I did. I just...I felt a little...almost jealous towards my sisters. They were exposed to a much different side of him than I ever saw...I know it's wrong,but I can't help it," he continued,sounding frustrated. _He was clearly harrassing you as well,and I wasn't going to let him get away with that_,Ivan thought angrily. He took off the gloves he was wearing,revealing more scars on his hands.

Amelia remained quiet,watching as he pointed to a long,thin scar that went from the knuckle of his left index finger past his wrist.

"I got this when I was a minute late to training,I was seven. And this," he moved to a ragged criss-cross scar on his right hand,"he gave me for not reloading one of the guns that we used in training sessions,I was ten,I believe." He sighed again,half-lidded eyes running over the white scars that still seemed to show up against his pale skin.

"I'm...glad that they didn't have to go through what I did,that they were able to have a relatively normal life. I just feel...so removed from them. How do I make up for what I've missed? I barely even remember Katyusha,and I don't even know my little sister! I don't fit into their lives...and it's probably for the best that I don't," he mumbled in a soft voice.

Several things dawned on Amelia at that moment. First,there was another sister? Second,this was the most Ivan had ever really said without taking a break for teasing Amelia about something. And,third...

"That's why you didn't want me lookin' at your shoulder...the scars. They bother you,don't they?" she asked slowly,carefully. Amelia noticed how his jaw tightened and his right hand twitched before he answered.

"Yes...They're a constant reminder of the pain and suffering I've caused,as well as my mistakes. They are the one thing that The Foundation gave me that I can't block out or get rid of. They will haunt me forever and a day," he said through clenched teeth.

"So? I don't mind 'em. They don't define you,so quit actin' like they do," Amelia said,swinging her legs off of the Russian and moving a bit closer. "I think,that the more you see them as a bad thing,the more they're gonna bother you," she added,shivering a little from the cold.

"Oh,really," Ivan replied in a sarcastic tone,shoving his gloves into a jacket pocket.

"Yeah,really,Buddy Bear," Amelia said simply,a small smirk on her face.

Ivan blinked,and gave her a confused look. "What...did you just call me?" he asked,sounding utterly baffled at what he thought he'd heard.

"You heard me,Buddy Bear. Or do I have to say it slower for your tiny little commie brain?" she joked,her smirk widening.

Ivan snorted at the confirmation,and turned his head away to hide the small grin that was on his face. _That name is...so ridiculous..._"Why do you keep associating me with bears? I have nothing against them,but still," he asked,having been curious about this for a while.

"Uh...well," Amelia floundered for a good answer. "You just...I don't know! You just put me in mind of a bear,y'know?" she finally huffed out,pouting when Ivan snickered at her answer.

"That is a terrible answer,American," Ivan said,continuing to chuckle at Amelia's not very well thought out answer.

"Shut up! It wasn't that funny!" Amelia burst out indignantly,though she couldn't help giggling a little as well. "See,you're already feelin' better just talkin' to me,the hero!" she grinned,doing a sitting version of her hero pose.

"Whatever you say," Ivan replied,giving Amelia a lopsided grin. Then,something popped into his head,and he couldn't believe this question hadn't come into his mind before. "What's your real name?" he blurted out,wincing inwardly at how tactless he sounded.

"Huh? Oh,yeah,I never told you that,did I?" Amelia said,sounding somewhat embarrassed. "The name's Amelia ! I know,kinda old fashioned sounding,but whatever," she stated her name proudly,a thousand watt smile fixed on her face.

Ivan returned her smile with a smaller,somewhat shy one. Getting to know people was certainly something new to him,but he was starting to warm up to it. "It suits you," he replied,watching the American out of the corner of his eye.

* * *

><p>"Alright,aru,just follow my lead and we should be ready to leave at any moment...so long as agent England isn't having any problems," Yao instructed Madeline in a low voice,as they approached the office of Sigurd Bondevik,agent Norway.<p>

Madeline nodded silently as they walked up to the man's desk.

"Ni hao,agent Norway," Yao greeted,a friendly smile on his face.

Agent Norway looked up from some paperwork,his expression one of pure boredom. He blinked several times before returning to his paperwork.

_Why,hello,agent China,how nice it is to see you...Honestly,the younger generations are so rude!_ Agent China thought sourly to himself,his smile turning into a frown.

Madeline looked back and forth between the two men,unsure if she was supposed to be doing something right now. "Um..."

"Fill out the files that are over there. Put the names of all participating agents,where your mission is taking place,and your objective. You must give us a contact number. If you are not in posession of a weapons slip,you must fill out further papers. Once you have finished filling out the papers,I will look over the files and then you can begin your mission," Sigurd said in a monotonous voice,never taking his half-lidded eyes off of his work.

Agent China let out a small huff,heading over to a crowded table that was covered in papers. After fishing around for the correct papers,Yao grabbed a pen that had been half buried by the mess and started filling out the files for the fake mission.

He looked over his shoulder for a moment,seeing a very uncomfortable looking Madeline,then returned to filling out the papers.

Madeline shifted in place nervously. Agent Norway was staring at her. He blinked,his paperwork suddenly forgotten. He placed the pen he was using down on the desk,and then said something in a language she didn't understand.

"Um...I-I'm sorrry,but I don't know what you just said,eh," Madeline replied softly,practically shriveling under the Norwegian's intense stare.

Sigurd cocked one fair eyebrow at her answer,his head tilted to the side slightly. "Are you a spirit?" he asked in the most serious tone Madeline had ever heard.

"N-No,eh! Why would you think that?" Madeline answered,resisting the urge to slap a hand to her forehead.

Agent Norway made a noncommital sound,picking up his discarded pen and returned to his paperwork. "My mistake," he replied in an incredibly vague way.

Madeline quickly moved next to agent China. _Okay...that was really strange. _

Agent China straightened up from his hunched over position,files in hand. "Alright,I've finished filling out these files. Now,can we hurry this process along,aru? I don't like to waste time," Yao said in a slightly disgruntled tone,handing the papers to agent Norway.

The Norwegian man carefully looked over the files,occasionally glancing up at Madeline. "And where is the third member to this mission?" he asked,the monotonous tone back in his voice.

"Agent England is getting our equipment ready,aru. He already got the proper confirmations and paperwork done," Yao answered,producing another set of papers that he had gotten Arthur to fill out beforehand.

Sigurd's eyes narrowed as he took the papers. "Is that so? Agent England works in my department...I never took him as a field agent. I've never even seen him hold a gun," he said,sounding skeptical.

"Well,you'd have to ask him about that,aru. Maybe he felt like putting some of the training he received to the test. It's not that surprising of young agents to do that. I've seen it many times,aru," Yao replied,keeping a stern face.

Agent Norway gave a nod,returning once again to his own work.

Agent China and Madeline took this as a confirmation to leave. The two left the office,and went to meet up with Arthur.

Sigurd paused in his writing,looking to a dark corner of his office. _I could have sworn that girl was of the otherworld. She seemed to flit in and out of existence...I didn't even notice her enter the room._ He slowly turned his head back to its previous position,and continued to work.

* * *

><p>Agent Mongolia was just heading to the weapons room when he saw Agent England exit it,carrying several cases. <em>What's a pencil pusher like that doing with all of those guns? Hmmm,this could prove to pay off<em>,Nergui thought giddily to himself.

He decided to pick up his weapons later,and began tailing the unknowing Brit. _Oh,yes...I have a very good feeling about this. This fool is clearly up to something. Foundation agents don't sneak around their own headquarters...not unless they're planning something __**against**__ The Foundation itself._ He could barely contain the dark grin that formed on his lips.


	18. Plans

Agent Winter sighed as he watched Katyusha cry at the narrow railing that connected the apartments at the back of the building. He hadn't seen her come into the room when he...spoke. He had lost his head back there,he hadn't really meant any of what he'd said. It was a pitiful excuse either way,if he had known she was there or not,he shouldn't of said what he did.

"Katyusha...please,forgive me," he murmured,coming up behind the young woman.

Katyusha turned around to face him and buried her face into his chest,tears staining his shirt. "Why? I-I don't understand...why are you doing this?" she asked in a hoarse voice,unable to look Nikolai in the eye.

Nikolai paused,wrapping his arms around the woman he had grown to regard as his own daughter,and let out another sigh before answering. "I can't tell you everything yet...When this is all over,you'll know why,I promise. You must be strong for me,Katya. You have your brother back,yes? Is that not a good thing?" he replied,tilting Katyusha's head up so that she was looking at him.

Katyusha sniffled,wiping at her eyes. "O-Of course! I've missed him so much...but why can't you tell me about my mother's death? I can see that it's connected with everything that's happened,but I don't know why...I want to know what has happened to my little Vanya,but I can wait...if I have to," she answered in a wavering voice.

Nikolai brushed his lips across her forehead,his eyes closed. "If all goes according to plan,you won't have to wait for long,my flower. Just know that everything I have done has been in your and your siblings' best interests," he said softly,pulling away from her.

"I've always known that,Niki," Katyusha whispered,gazing after the older man as he left her to be by herself.

* * *

><p>Amelia gazed up at the now star-filled sky,watching in mild amusement as her breath curled up into the pale lights because of the frigid air. She had always liked it when she could see her own breath,but the only problem with that was it needed to be cold out and she wasn't a big fan of the cold.<p>

"Heh,my dad would've loved a night like this. He loved this sort of weather,and he was a bit of a stargazer too," Amelia said,hugging herself for warmth. "He used to take me and my sis out to look at the stars sometimes,when he wasn't working,that is."

Ivan watched the other carefully. "You were...close?" he asked,taking note of how Amelia shivered.

"Yeah,we were. He was an Air Force pilot,so I didn't see him all that much,but when he was around it was like we were a normal family. Y'know,the perfect sort of family that everyone else seemed to have," Amelia replied,shrugging slightly.

"I'm afraid I wouldn't know much about that,but from my own observations...most people don't have as great a life as they put on," he said,returning his gaze to the cloudless night sky.

Amelia made a small noise of agreement,trying to contain her shivering. She rubbed her arms furiously,her teeth chattering violently. _Geez,why's it have to be so freaking cold out? _she thought grumpily to herself,shifting around for warmth where she sat.

Ivan's eyes flickered to the American,debating whether or not to do anything. Haltingly,he put an arm around her shaking shoulders and pulled her up against his side.

Amelia stifled a surprised yelp,her face reddening. She chanced a slightly embarrassed glance at Ivan,but he was still looking up at the dark sky. After resisting the urge to wiggle around a little,she realized how warm the Russian was. Amelia threw shock and embarrassment to the wind,and moved closer to Ivan.

_I'm only doin' this 'cause I'm freezing my ass off out here,not because I kinda sorta might like it! How is he this warm right now? It's,like,negative fifty out here or something! _Amelia rationalized,puffing her cheeks out. _Whatever...he's warm,I'm cold. It works out._

Neither Amelia nor Ivan noticed Francis watching from the front door,which he had cracked open just enough to see out of. _Ohonhonhon,finally! It's about time one of them made a move! I was starting to think that they didn't know what to do with each other_,he chuckled in his throat,closing the door and effectively ending the Frenchman's spying of the two.

* * *

><p>Agent Mongolia followed the blond man for a while,trailing farther back when the Brit met up with two other agents. A dark grin played on his lips as he recognized agent China. <em>Mhm,of course that bleeding heart would be involved in this. That fool always became too attached to the agents he helped train. But who is that third one? I've never seen her before...<em>

He decided to discard that concern for now,intent on gleaning what he could from the three. From where he was,he couldn't hear what they were discussing clearly,but he did catch something about transportation being ready. _Yes,lead me right to my prey...But,a hunter without a weapon is a poor one indeed. I need my gun for this...and possibly some supporting agents._

Nergui quickly made his way back to the weapons room,grabbing what weapons he deemed necessary for his mission. As he was exiting the room,his eyes came upon a trio of younger agents. _Perfect_,he thought,making his way over to them.

"How would you boys like to accompany me on a special mission,directly from the Commissioner?" he asked in a sly voice,a fake smile on his tanned face.

"Ve~ Can we really do something so important?" a bubbly Italian asked,practically bouncing in place with excitement.

"Of course not,Feliciano! We don't have the credentials for anything that comes directly from the Commissioner! Very few agents do those sorts of missions," a blond German berated the other quickly,his voice sounding somewhat stressed.

"Why would you need our help on a mission,agent Mongolia? I would think that you are quite capable of accomplishing this mission by yourself," agent Japan questioned in a polite tone,his dark eyes looking the senior agent over with an air of suspicion.

Agent Mongolia noticed the Japanese man's critical gaze,bristling slightly at the younger agent's attitude. He kept his sickeningly pleasant smile on,though,and ignored the urge to teach the young man a lesson.

"This is an exception,agent Japan. I've heard many good things about you three,and I wouldn't mind your aid. Besides,you will be experiencing something very few agents get to...," Nergui said,trailing off in a seductively sadistic voice.

"And that would be?" agent Germany asked,an intrigued tone in his stern voice. _This would be a good way to show my skills to the Commissioner,as well as learn whatever I can from a veteran agent. I've been stuck too long in the rookie agent category,I'm more than ready to move up in the ranks._

"You will be helping me in taking down The Foundation's very own human weapon. Surely you know of the rogue agent Russia?" Nergui answered.

"What? Wasn't agent America on that mission?" agent Japan asked,surprise flickering across his face.

"She _was_,but no longer. Agent Russia has turned her,as well as some other agents,against The Foundation. The Commissioner takes this as a serious threat,and it needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. Well,are you coming or not?" agent Mongolia explained,sounding impatient.

The three younger agents exchanged looks,all seeming rather uncertain. Then,agent Germany stepped forward,his face stoney. "We're coming," he said,blue eyes stoic in their gaze.

"Excellent!" Nergui replied,starting off to where the cars and such were kept for missions. If agent China and his little band of rebels were taking transportation,then they had no choice but to go to the second level of The Foundation's main base.

Agent Italy turned to agent Germany,a worried look on his usually happy face. "Um,Ludwig...do you think that this is a good idea? That guy is really scary," Feliciano stammered out,trying to keep up with the blond's faster pace.

Ludwig remained silent. Though his face was serious,he was having second thoughts himself about taking agent Mongolia up on his offer. Going back on it now would make him seem like a coward,and he was _not_ a coward.

Kiku Honda followed dutifully after his friends,not wanting them to get hurt if he didn't go,but was highly suspicious of agent Mongolia.

* * *

><p>Katyusha wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt as she walked back into the kitchen. She gasped,her eyes widening,as she bumped into someone. "Oh,I'm sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going," she appologized quickly.<p>

"No need for apologies,mon cher. It was actually quite enjoyable," Francis said,wiping his hands off on a kitchen towel that he had grabbed.

Katyusha blanched when she noticed what Francis was doing. "Oh,you don't have to cook! You're a guest here,you shouldn't be doing this sort of thing!" she exclaimed in embarrassment,her face turning red.

Francis let out a light laugh,his ocean blue eyes dancing with amusement. "But I have not cooked for so long! It would be my pleasure to do so...especially for you,mon amour," he replied in a velvety voice.

Katyusha's face turned a deeper shade of red and she spluttered,trying to make a reply to that. "I-I-I...What?" she asked,confused by the Frenchman's flirtatious forwardness.

"Simply put,mon cher,is that I couldn't pass up the chance of making you happy in any small way I could! A woman as beautiful as you shouldn't have to go through the trouble of cooking for unexpected guests," Francis explained,putting on his most charming face.

"Oh...well,thank you,um...I don't think I ever got your name," Katyusha said in a flustered voice,fiddling with a button on her blouse.

"Francis Bonnefoy," he supplied,delicately taking her right hand and kissing it lingeringly.

Katyusha hid her face in embarrassment,a wavering smile on her lips. She didn't quite know how to take this man. She had just met him,but he seemed to take a genuine interest in her. _Oh...what do I do? He's very nice...but I'm so,well..._,she stressed,biting her bottom lip.

Francis took this as a good sign,and moved in slowly for a kiss. He was very surprised,then,when Katyusha ran off crying about talking to her brother. The Frenchman stared after the woman,a bewieldered look on his face. _Was I just...rejected? Non,that's not possible!_ he mentally wailed to himself.

* * *

><p>Amelia and Ivan jolted away from each other when they heard a door open and close,followed by quick footsteps.<p>

"Vanya,c-can I talk to you?" came Katyusha's flustered voice. "Oh,I'm sorry,I didn't know you were busy! W-We can talk later!" she exclaimed upon seeing Amelia. Katyusha started to head back into the apartment when Amelia jumped up from her spot on the stairs.

"Naw,you guys go ahead and talk,I was just about to go back in anyways! It's too freakin' cold out here for me," Amelia said,laughing nervously as she hurried to the door. She paused,her hand on the doorknob,looking back over her shoulder at Ivan. Amelia shook her head vigorously,entering the apartment.

Ivan watched as Amelia left,instantly missing her warmth. He switched his attention to his older sister,a questioning look in his eyes.

"I really am sorry for interrupting! I just...wanted to speak with you,since we haven't really had a chance to," Katyusha said,her eyes flicking back and forth nervously.

The questioning look in Ivan's eyes didn't leave as Katyusha sat down next to him,where Amelia had been only moments before. "Alright...," he replied hesitantly,the comfortable atmosphere that had come with Amelia quickly dissapating into stifling awkwardness.

The two fidgeted in the thick awkward silence;each seeming to expect the other to start. Katyusha nibbled at her bottom lip,lowered eyes shifting suddenly from one thing to the next. Ivan kept his gaze trained firmly on his older sister,hands messing with the soft fabric of his scarf.

"I-I,um,I'm really so happy that you're here," Katyusha blurted out,clasping her hands together in an effort to get them to stop shaking.

Ivan blinked,not really expecting that sudden statement. "Ah...," he replied,silently cursing his lack of social skills. _What am I supposed to say? This is so uncomfortable..._,he thought,feeling stressed to say something. He continued to finger the old scarf in a nervous fashion,his eyes wandering to the cars passing by on the street.

Katyusha lapsed into silence again when Ivan didn't say anything,glancing timidly at her younger brother. "I...c-can't believe you kept that all this time,Vanya. I didn't think I'd ever see it again,let alone with you still wearing it," she said in a quiet voice,a wavering smile on her face.

"It was the only thing I had from...before," Ivan said,loosening the soft garment slowly before taking it off completely. "I should return this,since it isn't really mine," he mumbled,dropping the scarf into his sister's lap.

"B-But,I gave it to you,to keep. You've had it for so long,I couldn't take it back now," she exclaimed softly,attempting to hand it back.

Ivan refused to take the scarf back,even though he felt exposed without it. "Nyet,but...maybe you could hold onto it for me? Just until this is all over," he offered,a strained smile on his face.

Katyusha nodded silently,pulling the faded garment closer to herself.

* * *

><p>"Alright,aru...all we have to do is get to the second level and then we should be able to leave," Yao said,readjusting the bag he was carrying.<p>

"That's not too far away,eh. Once we're out,where are we supposed to go?" Madeline asked quietly,trying to keep up with the two male agents' faster paces.

"It won't take more than four hours to get to the location I was given,so long as we don't hit any snags along the way," the Chinese man replied,opening a door labeled "level two".

The three quickly made their way across the brightly lit room that closely resembled a parking complex. Agent China stopped when he came to a plain silver van,producing a set of keys. "Put everything into the back,aru. We need to move fast," he ordered,opening the trunk of the vehicle.

Arthur and Madeline nodded silently,packing all of their bags into the van.

"Going on a mission,Yao?" a sickly sweet voice echoed from somewhere in the room,accompanied by slow footsteps.

Yao shivered as he recognized the unhinged voice. _Nergui..._"Get into the van now," Yao hissed to the two younger agents,reaching for his gun.

"What the hell is going on? Who is that?" Arthur demanded in a hushed voice,eyes blazing fiercely.

"Agent Mongolia,aru...He is very dangerous;he's close to the Commissioner," Yao replied,searching the room with careful precision.

"A-Arthur,I think we should do what Mister Wang says," Madeline piped up,shifting nervously near the van's door.

Arthur turned to look at the younger woman,brow furrowed. The sound of footsteps seemed to multiply,a sense of danger creeping into the entire room. The Brit gave a hesitant nod,and followed Madeline into the van.

"Now,Yao,if you're going off to help that traitor...I'm afraid I'll be forced to do something most...unpleasant,for you that is," Nergui purred,stepping out from the cover of another car.

"What are you talking about,agent Mongolia? What traitor?" Yao asked,trying to feign cluelessness.

"Idiocy doesn't suit you,Yao...so why don't you just drop the charade. I know that you've been aiding the rogue agent Russia,and that you were just about to leave The Foundation to help him yet again. Did you ever think about the consequences for these foolish actions?" Nergui asked,his tone turning steely as he advanced on the smaller man.

Yao let his hand fall from the gun he had in a holster at his waist,opting to go for close combat instead. "Helping someone in need is considered foolish now...The Foundation surely has lost its way,aru," he replied,eyes carefully watching his opponent's movements.

Agent Mongolia chuckled,still advancing. "No good deed goes unpunished...and for you,the punishment will be severe. Unless,of course,you give up agent Russia's current location," he said in a sing-song voice.

"Never,aru," Yao hissed fiercely,his eyes narrowing.

"That's too bad. I can only imagine what effect this will have on your agreement with the Commissioner,as well as your siblings," Nergui lamented in barely concealed fake concern.

Shock flashed across agent China's face for a split second before reverting to seriousness once more.

A few cars behind,agent Japan listened keenly,waiting for his older brother's answer.

"That agreement is null and void now. The Foundation's destruction is more important at the moment...My siblings can handle themselves,they will understand the reasons for my actions," Yao answered confidently,waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike.

"What an...unfortunate answer. Are you truly willing to risk your own flesh and blood for the unwarranted revenge fantasy of an unhinged killer?" Nergui asked,sounding incredibly pleased. He casually pulled out a hand gun,aiming at agent China.

Yao rushed forward faster than Nergui could react;kicking the gun out of his hand,quickly following up with a low but powerful spin kick to the taller man's middle that sent him crashing to the ground. "Start the van,hurry!" he yelled to Arthur,who had gotten into the driver's seat. Yao turned quickly to get into the vehicle.

Arthur fumbled with the keys before jamming them into the ignition and slamming onto the gas pedal,tires screeching across pavement.

"Don't just stand there,shoot,you idiots!" agent Mongolia shouted,searching for his weapon.

Agent Germany and Japan quickly opened fire on the escaping van,only managing to land several of those shots. Agent Italy was struggling to get his gun out of its holster.

"Ve,Ludwig,I forgot to load my gun!" Feliciano cried,holding his gun out sadly.

"What is your problem,agent Italy!" Ludwig roared,his blood pressure sky-rocketing in a matter of milliseconds.

Kiku thought of saying something about the other two agents' outbursts,but refrained from doing so.

"They got away...," agent Mongolia growled,finally retrieving his gun.

Agent Germany cringed internally,the look on the Asian man's face not a good sign. "I apologize,agent Mongolia-" the blond man stopped when hysterical laughter burst out from the other man.

"Apologize,for what,might I ask?" came the wavering voice,laughter barely being contained.

"For our failure...sir," Ludwig answered warily,ignoring agent Italy's spasmatic,nervous laugh coming from behind him.

"No,there's no need for that! I much prefer hunting my prey down to collecting it from a disabling trap. Wrestling down a bear and slitting it's throat is so much more fullfilling than shooting it from a distance...Come,we're leaving," Nergui replied in a deliriously happy voice,heading for another vehicle.


	19. A Distant Rumble

"Tony! Tony,here,boy!" Amelia called,searching for the ever elusive pug dog. She paused when she heard a muffled bark come from the bedroom. Amelia entered the cheerily lit room,spotting the dog's backside sticking out from under the bed.

"Tony,you really need to stop wandering off. Hey,c'mon,get out of that!" she reprimanded,getting down on all fours so that she could pull the animal out. After several good tugs Amelia dragged the small dog out from under the bed,but that wasn't all she got.

"Huh? What's this? It looks kinda like a photo album...," she wondered out loud,opening the dusty book while keeping a firm hold on Tony. The pug sneezed as Amelia flipped through dusty pages,looking through old photos with genuine curiosity.

One of the photos had a girl of about ten years sitting in a chair with a toddler stuck on her lap,her face fixed with a joyful expression as she tickled the two year old boy. Another one had the same girl from before - only a little bit older - running away from the same young boy,clutching protectively at her scarf as the boy reached for it with muddy hands.

Amelia grinned at the pictures,turning the page. She had to look closely at these next ones,on account of them being somewhat blurry. She could make out two adults standing together under a streetlight in a snowy park;the man had a shocked look on his face - at least from what Amelia could tell - and looked like he was in the process of falling over,while the woman had a devious expression as she lunged at the taller man to steal a kiss. In the next one,the woman was holding a baby close to herself,a loving look in her amethyst eyes.

The next page had the young boy from earlier,though he was now wearing the scarf that the older girl had before,and a little girl who was no more than two with a bow in her hair. The girl was tugging on the long scarf with a determined look on her face,her small mouth open in a silent cry of disapproval. The boy had a strained smile on his chubby face as he tried to give the little girl a sorry looking teddy bear in hopes of getting away from the grabby toddler.

Amelia traced her index finger over the vivid amethyst eyes in the picture,her grin fading somewhat. _How could anyone take this away and still have a clean conscience? The Foundation's destroyed too many families,too many lives. And I'm only now figuring out about this damage..._,she thought,anger at the government that she had trusted for so long bubbling up.

"It's quite fascinating...how people change," a rough voice said from behind Amelia,interrupting her thoughts.

The American twisted around to see agent Winter lingering in the doorway. "What do you mean?" she asked,though not in a friendly tone. She still wasn't sure about this man,and his actions so far weren't earning him any points in her book. Amelia heard a low growl come from Tony,the small pug baring his sharp teeth.

The older man payed no attention to the dog,moving further into the room. His icy eyes fell to the old pictures,going over every minute detail slowly. "Change is hardly ever wanted,but sometimes it is necessary," he continued,apparently ignoring Amelia's question.

"Yeah,well,not all changes are for the better," Amelia muttered,glaring at Nikolai.

"And not everything is as simple as you think it is,American. Life is centered around change,if you don't change then you don't survive. The Foundation took this to an extreme,as you have seen,with the human weapon experiment," he growled,keeping his gaze fixed on the photos.

Nikolai raised his eyes from the photo album,locking with Amelia's fierce gaze. "Do not assume that I enjoyed destroying his life. The only thing I could do for him was prepare him for what was to come,to be able to survive," he said,his tone somewhat regretful.

"Why did The Foundation want _him_?" Amelia asked,the question burning in her mind for a while. _The Foundation took in children all the time,from all around the world,from any background. Why had Ivan been targeted specifically?_

Agent Winter was silent for a short span,running a hand through his greying hair. Amelia took note of this,remembering Ivan doing this several times before. Sure,it was a common enough action,but there just seemed to be more to it than that.

"The Commissioner chose him for several reasons. One being that he was at the perfect age for the experiment,another for his lack of legal documentation;birth certificate and such. They had easy access to him and they wouldn't have to worry about any legal problems,The Foundation basically owned him. Also...because of who his biological parents were. They were both agents for The Foundation," he explained,steepling his index fingers as he laced the others together,sitting at the edge of the bed.

"What...are you saying...?" Amelia asked slowly,watching the other carefully.

"His mother was the previous agent Russia,Anfisa Braginskaya. She was an excellent young agent when I first met her,but she was very...idealistic. She wasn't someone who accepted no as an answer,and never said it if she could help it. You are very much like her," Nikolai murmured.

"Why are you telling me this?" Amelia broke in,confused as to where agent Winter was going with this.

Cold eyes settled on the blond;calculating,unnerving. "Someone has to know. Someone has to tell them what really happened...There are four people who know what happened on the night that Anfisa Braginskaya was killed by the very organization she worked for. The commissioner,who ordered her death,like he has done with you. Agent Mongolia,the one that is responsible for killing her. Myself...I was there that night,and I failed to protect her and her children." He paused here,a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "And...Ivan,though I don't believe he remembers it at all. He was young,and it seems to be one of the many traumatic memories he has surpressed," Nikolai continued,undeterred.

Amelia let what agent Winter said sink in a little,her mouth open slightly. "Alright...I get it so far," she replied,resigned to the fact that the older man was going to tell her this whether she wanted to hear it or not.

"As you should know,relationships between agents are not allowed in The Foundation,but that certainly didn't stop Anfisa...nothing much could. At first she was nothing more than an annoyance to me,following me around whenever she could,doing anything to get assigned to the same missions as me. After a while I had to admit she was an incredible agent...That was all it took for the relationship of two fellow agents to change into something so much more," he started up again,fondness creeping into his voice.

"We continued this secret relationship for a good amount of years,but after several missions that required...intimate actions on her part...it was only a matter of time before she became pregnant. Safe sex on missions has never been a concern for The Foundation. Anfisa,being the willful person she was,refused to give up the child. And so,she was suspended from missions for several more years until she could arrange something for the child. She raised Katyusha in and out of safe houses until she was cleared for service again."

"After returning to The Foundation's service,Anfisa started doubting what The Foundation was doing. She turned down most of her offered missions,and began looking for a way out of the organization. Unfortunately,our relationship gave her an immediate distraction. Ivan was born nine months later in The Foundation's medical wing...not the ideal place,but there wasn't much choice."

"After her third child Anfisa knew she had to get out of The Foundation,if only to save her children from becoming like those around her. There is only one legal way out of The Foundation...and that is death. The contract is a death sentence in every sense of the word. We had planned to get Anfisa and the three children out at the end of December,but our activities had been discovered by the Commissioner...and that was the end of it. I was only able to save the young girls from agent Mongolia. Anfisa was fatally shot while she slept...and Ivan was taken back to The Foundation," Nikolai finished,his face hard with self-loathing.

"Why are you leaving it up to me? I mean,you've got time to tell them," Amelia said,choosing her words carefully.

Agent Winter gave her the most serious look anyone had ever sent her way,his eyes dark. "Ivan would not believe me,he won't allow himself to trust me any longer. No,I have lost that right. But,I can tell he trusts you completely,he would listen to you. Katyusha...I do not know how she will really react to this information,and Natalia is away at school right now. Aside from that,I do not have as much time as you think...," he answered,closing his eyes.

"What?" Amelia asked,not liking the accepting air that agent Winter carried.

"Those who wield death for their own devices can only expect the same in return...Even if I survive this,I could drop dead right after it. My heart is failing;an unfortunate family trait. That seems to be the only thing I am able to give my son...unfortunate things. I am entrusting this information to you to tell when the time is right. As long as I can help see this last mission through,I don't care when or how I die," he said,his voice determined.

Amelia went silent,processing the information slowly. Her expression becoming serious,she turned to Nikolai. "On my word as a hero,your last mission will be successful,I promise," she declared,offering her hand to the other.

Agent Winter chuckled,a smirk on his haggard face. "I'll hold you to that,agent America," he accepted,grasping her hand in his larger one.

* * *

><p>Agent Mongolia grinned to himself,his eyes fixed on the small device in his hand. <em>Those fools forgot about the tracking device in agent America's phone. <em>"Go to this address," he told agent Germany,setting the tracking receiver on the dashboard of the car they were in.

Ludwig gave a curt nod,glancing at the map on the device's screen. _That's not too far away. Surely they know that it's not a safe location..._,he thought to himself,surprised at the lack of caution in the rogue agents.

"Ve~ Ludwig,are we almost there yet?" Feliciano asked innocently,bouncing around in his seat as he looked out the car window.

Ludwig's eye twitched. "Nein...not yet,Feliciano," he replied through gritted teeth.

"Oh,well,maybe if you went faster we could beat those other guys to the surprise party!" the oblivious Italian suggested lightly,a smile on his face.

Agent Germany swore he heard veins popping as he tried to surpress the berating remark that came to mind. "We are not going to a surprise party! How many times do I have to tell you that?" he bellowed,failing to control his annoyance.

"Please,agent Italy,do not upset agent Germany any further. He is the one driving,after all," Kiku whispered in a polite voice to Feliciano.

"Kiku,why are we whispering? Ooooh,I know! It's because the surprise party is for Ludwig,right? Yay! Don't worry,I can keep a secret! If only I'd known sooner,then I could have made some pasta," the spacey Italian said,thinking of ways to make pasta dishes once they got to the party.

Agent Japan blinked several times,giving up on explaining to the Italian the real purpose of what they were doing. _Honestly,he should know by now...seeing as we were shooting at a group of rogue agents not too long ago. I seriously don't know how he's made it this far as an agent_,the young Japanese wondered silently.

* * *

><p>Katyusha fiddled with the scarf in her lap,worrying her bottom lip. "I...I want to a-ask you something,Vanya," she stammered out,facing her brother suddenly.<p>

Ivan gave her a hesitant nod,trying to gauge what sort of question she was going to ask. _It can't be anything good...she seems too upset_, he thought dismally,carefully watching as she stalled,her lip quivering slightly.

"I know you can't tell me much about your life right now,but...I just want to know...if it's been good,so far," she finally said,her tone slow and careful.

Ivan remained silent,rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Katyusha waited patiently,her light blue eyes looking over the scars on his neck tearfully.

He saw her sad expression,dropping his hand quickly from his neck and glancing partially away from her ashamedly. "I'm sorry that I'm not what you expected...," he muttered,still avoiding her gaze.

Katyusha blinked her tears away,her expression turning a bit more determined and confident. She combed her fingers through his short hair,ignoring how he tensed,and let her hand fall to his cheek. She forced him to look at her,though he didn't resist much,her thumb caressing the side of his face slowly. "I wanted my little brother,and that's what I got. Nothing could have made me happier! I've been thinking about you for years,wondering what had happened to you after that night. Getting to know you,learn about you...that's been something I've wanted to do for so long. The only thing I expected from you...was _you_. Just be you," Katyusha said in a firm voice,bringing her other hand up to his face.

He grabbed her wrists,gently removing her hands from his face. "It's getting better," he answered,shifting her smaller hands into his larger ones,giving her a small smile.

* * *

><p>Madeline watched the sky darken as they drove away from The Foundation's headquarters as fast as they could without drawing suspicion from local authorities. She pushed her glasses further up on her nose timidly,eyes passing back and forth between the trees they passed.<p>

_Amelia...you'd better be okay. I know you're the hero and all,but there's always the hero's worrywart sidekick to...eh,worry...And I know,that you know,that I worry about you all the time! So...just be alright when we find you_,she thought,her mind stuck on what bad things could have already happened to her twin sister.

_"Hey,you leave Maddie alone,you jerks!" a loud,clearly angry,voice shouted;a young girl huffing over to a group of boys._

_Madeline was surrounded by the older kids,crying silently as one of them tossed her stuffed polar bear around in the air._

_"We ain't doin' anythin' to her! We just wanted to play wit' her little bear," the boy replied in a high nasal voice. He tossed the stuffed toy to another boy in the group when Amelia lunged at him._

_"Give it back! I'll knock your teeth out,booger breath!" Amelia yelled,making another lunge for the bear and missing once it was tossed again._

_"Hey,you're a girl,you can't talk like that!" one of the boys said,giving a snorting laugh when Amelia's face turned red._

_The boy who currently had the bear held it out over a puddle of muddy water,waggling it back and forth tauntingly. Madeline let out a little whimper,biting her bottom lip in an effort to stop crying._

_"Don't...you...dare," Amelia said in a deadly low voice,her blue eyes blazing furiously._

_The boy smirked,showing that he had nothing but buck teeth in his large mouth,and let the polar bear go._

_Madeline gasped,reaching out for the plushie desperately,even though she wasn't close enough to catch it._

_The squelching splash that followed as the poor,once white,toy fell into oily dark brown water sounded incredibly loud to the two sisters. The group of boys let out a ruckus of loud and annoyingly stupid laughs,congratulating the other boy on his idea to drop the toy in dirty water._

_The next thing Madeline knew,the previously proud boy was crying on the ground,clutching at a bent and bloody nose. Amelia standing over him with a livid expression on her face,blood staining her knuckles with red._

_"The heck's your problem?" a boy shouted,looking at Amelia nervously,trying to decide on his fight or flight instinct._

_Amelia gave the rest of the boys a dirty look,steping towards them menacingly. The boys retreated back a step. "I told you not to do that. Now,who's next? I'll teach y'all a lesson you'll never forget,jerk offs!" she threatened,cracking her knuckles as she got ready to fight._

_The group of boys,not wanting to look like cowards running from one girl,rushed the blond ten year old. _

_It didn't take long for them to run away,crying about their injuries._

_Madeline sniffed quietly as she pulled her stuffed bear from the murky water,tears blurring her vision so that all she saw was muddy brown. She wiped some mud from the bear's left paw,hugging it close to herself despite the wet and dirty feeling it had._

_"I'm sorry,Maddie...Maybe can wash him?" Amelia said,kneeling down next to her quieter twin. She ignored the little hurts that she felt,having come from the tussel with a few marks as well,instead wanting to make her sister feel better._

_"T-Thank you,Amelia...I-I don't know what w-would've h-happened if you hadn't of come,eh...Kumajirou says thank you,too...," Madeline mumbled,waving the bear's paw at her sister._

_"Well,that's what a hero's suppossed to do,Maddie! Help those in need,especially when they're family," Amelia replied,helping her sister to her feet. "C'mon,let's see if we can't get Kuma...uh,what's his name cleaned," she said,leading the way back to their current foster home._

_Madeline nodded,wiping tears away from her eyes as she followed her twin. __**You are the hero,Melie...but I'm your sidekick. No matter where you go,or whatever trouble you get into,I'll always be there for you. Even the hero needs somebody to look after them**__,she thought to herself,hugging Kumajirou tighter against her chest._

Madeline brushed some hair out of her eyes with her hand,bending over slightly in her seat to unzip the bag at her feet. She reached her hand in,feeling her fingers brush something soft and fuzzy. She didn't bring the thing out,but a smile came to her lips. _When the hero's in trouble,it's the sidekick who comes to the rescue,isn't it,Kumajirou?_ Madeline caressed the stuffed bear's head,fingers scratching behind its ear lovingly.

The polar bear's plush fur isn't white like it used to be,but that was okay to Madeline. She didn't think of it as a bad stain that ruined the old toy,it was more like a stain of love. It was just something that Madeline and Amelia's sisterly bond had touched deeply,so much that they could see it plain as the bear's dirty white fur.


	20. It All Comes Crashing Down

_"Mama...Mama,wake up," Ivan whispered,his eyes shifting nervously in the darkness of the room. He rubbed the soft fabric of his sister's scarf between his fingers,finding a bit of comfort in the familiar feel of the garment._

_Anfisa shifted,turning the lamp near the bed on. "You should be asleep,__медвежонок__*...Ivan,what are you doing up?" she asked,surpressing a yawn._

_"I had a bad dream,and my room is scary when it's dark!" he whimpered,clambering up onto the bed next to his mother. "Can I sleep with you,Mama?" Ivan asked,curling up under the warm bed covers._

_Anfisa felt a smile tug at her lips,running her hand through the boy's soft hair. "You aren't giving me much of a chioce,are you,Ivan?" she chuckled,her eyes falling to the scarf that her son still had on. "You're wearing that to bed? Silly boy," she said,shaking her head in amused exasperation._

_Ivan shifted closer to his mother's body,pouting when she ran her hand through his hair. "But I like it! It's warm and soft,and Katya gave it to me," he argued,moving the scarf up so that it covered his nose and mouth._

_"Go back to sleep," Anfisa said in a hushed voice,reaching over to turn the light off._

_"Can you leave the light on?" Ivan asked in a small voice,his small hands clutching at his mother's night clothes in fear._

_Anfisa let out a soft sigh,settling back down on the bed. "Of course,__солнышко__*," she answered,closing her eyes as her head fell to the pillow again._

Ivan rolled onto his side in his sleep;his breathing changing from the slow rhythm of a dreamless sleep to the quick,shallow breathing that usually accompanied his nightmares.

Tony raised his small head off of his paws,yawning as he stretched. The pug leapt down from his spot on the couch with Amelia,sniffing his way over to where Ivan was sleeping on the floor. The dog pawed at the Russian's arm,huffing when he was blindly pushed away. Tony,however,was not deterred,and he curled up next to Ivan's side.

_Ivan rubbed at his face,wondering sleepily why it felt sticky,and blinked his eyes open. His face scrunched up slightly as he tasted blood in his mouth,and could smell the overbearing metallic liquid. His eyes widened in shock at what he saw,immediately clearing his sleep groggy mind._

_There was blood,lots of it. It stained the white bed sheets,devouring the pure color with a sickening amount of red. _

_Ivan quickly located the source of the blood. The red liquid was steadily flowing from the jagged slash that had been made on his mother's throat and the bullet wound in her chest. He swallowed thickly,trying to ignore the taste of blood as he did so,and shook his mother's shoulder hesitantly._

_"M-Mama...," he whispered,fear making his voice somewhat squeaky. He paused,waiting for her to wake up...move...anything. He tried again,ignoring the lump forming in his throat and the tears that threatened to fall. "Mama,no more playing...I-I don't like this game," he said in a wavering voice,his breath hitching in the back of his throat._

_She didn't respond,her amethyst eyes staring,glassy,into nothingness. _

_Ivan screamed._

Nikolai growled agitatedly in Russian,feeling something tug at his shirt sleeve. Icy eyes opened to slits,instantly identifying the problem as that hideous little pug dog that agent America apparently owned. He glared at the small animal,his anger flaring when the little beast growled at him. "Go away,you over-grown rat," he hissed,shooing the dog away.

The pug continued its low growl as it paced back and forth,looking from agent Winter to somewhere near the couch.

Nikolai gave the dog a strange look,following where the pug was staring at intensely. Even from across the room he could hear Ivan's labored breathing,and a jolt of worry ran through him. He got to his feet,moving carefully through the dark room until he was close enough to see the younger man's form in the darkness.

Ivan was sitting up,his large frame shaking infinitesmally as he gasped for air.

Concerned,Nikolai placed a halting hand on the other's shoulder. His eyes widened in surprise when Ivan grabbed onto his arm,throwing him to the ground like it was nothing. Nikolai's breath wheezed out of his lungs as he thudded to the ground and Ivan pinned him to the floor without hesitation.

Tony started barking,jumping up at the couch in an attempt to get Amelia's attention.

"тихий ниже,Иван*!" agent Winter shouted,recognizing this as one of the episodes that Ivan suffered from. He'd witnessed them several times before.

"What's going on?" Francis exclaimed,his gun at the ready as he turned on the light.

Amelia also had her gun out,thinking they were being attacked by The Foundation. Her eyes went wide as she saw Ivan pinning agent Winter to the floor,his hand wrapped around the older agent's throat and his gun aimed at the man's right temple. "Ivan,what are you doing?" she yelled,jumping to her feet.

"Don't do anything! He's not aware of what he's doing...You'll only make it worse," Nikolai choked out,struggling to remove Ivan's hand from around his throat. "I know...how to handle him," he gasped,successfully prying the younger Russian's hand from his throat.

Amelia and Francis exchanged looks,ready to help the older man if he needed it.

Agent Winter breathed in slowly,reaching his hand out towards Ivan's gun.

"конец*," Ivan growled out,his hand trembling slightly.

"Ivan...just calm down. I'm not going to hurt you. Just relax...you know me. Give me your gun...You don't want to hurt anybody here," Nikolai said in a slow,low voice. He reached out for the weapon again,keeping eye contact with Ivan. His fingers grazed the muzzle of the gun,but he stopped as he felt Ivan flinch away.

Ivan shifted his weight slightly,keeping the gun trained on Nikolai. His fingers flexed around the gun,putting pressure on the trigger.

"Vanya!" Katyusha cried from the doorway,tears shimmering in her light blue eyes. She had heard shouts from the other room and had come out to see what was going on,worried.

Ivan's head snapped up at his name,his amethyst eyes regaining their lucidity. "Katya...?" he mumured in a confused tone.

Nikolai took this distraction and snatched the gun from Ivan's hand. _That could have ended very badly..._,he thought grimly,his gaze wandering over to Katyusha. "Do you mind?" he growled,motioning impatiently for Ivan to move off of him.

Ivan released agent Winter,sitting back with a confused look on his face. "What happened?" he asked slowly,tugging at the collar of his now sweat drenched shirt. This was reminding him of what happened back at the safehouse with Amelia.

"You spazzed out again,Red," Amelia offered,trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere.

Nikolai shifted his gaze to the American,somewhat surprised. "So,this has happened with you before?" he asked,impressed that the young woman could have restrained Ivan.

"Yeah,he actually shot at me,but nothing really happened. Why'd it happen again?" she asked,picking up an agitated Tony. The pug licked her hand,staring up at Amelia briefly.

Agent Winter turned back to Ivan,his expression serious. "You had another flashback,didn't you? I thought you had gotten over this," he said in a gruff voice,rubbing at his eyes wearily.

"If I could control it,I would,but I can't. You think I enjoy it?" Ivan ground out,getting to his feet.

"Alright,alright! Down boys," Amelia intervened,sensing another fight coming on.

"Everybody,quiet down! I think we have company," Francis said in an urgent tone,peeking out the window.

* * *

><p>Yao approached the door quietly,raising his hand to knock. <em>This should be the place...but why would agent Winter use this as a rendezvous spot? <em>he thought,rapping his knuckles against the cold surface of the white door.

Arthur and Madeline shifted nervously behind the older Chinese man. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Arthur asked in a hushed voice,green eyes flicking back and forth. _Why's it so quiet here? Even at this time there should be some noise...a television at least._

The door swung out suddenly,light assaulting the three's eyes for a moment.

"Aiyah!" Yao exclaimed,seeing agent Winter aiming a gun at him.

Nikolai lowered the weapon upon seeing who the three were. "Ah,Yao,you finally came. That took you longer than I expected," he said,moving aside to let the other agents in.

"You try getting out of The Foundation with stubborn Brittish idiot,aru! Not to mention being intercepted by agent Mongolia," the smaller man retorted,stomping into the apartment.

Arthur and Madeline quickly followed after him,anxious to see if Amelia was alright.

"Maddie!" Amelia squealed happily,tackling her twin sister as she came into the room. "What're you doing here? You won't believe how awesome I've been doing on my first mission,even if it was a totally evil set up! Hey,you gotta meet Ivan! You'll like him! Oh,yeah,and Katyusha too! She's nice," the American rambled,crushing her sister in a tight hug.

"Melie...Melie,I can't breathe...and I have no idea what you just said,eh," Madeline gasped,struggling in her twin's bone crushing embrace.

"You ran into agent Mongolia? What happened?" Nikolai demanded,closing the door firmly behind him.

"We were almost out of The Foundation's headquarters,aru,but then agent Mongolia showed up when we got to level two. He knew what we were doing,and he tried to get us to give up agent Russia's location. We,of course,did not accept his poor offer,and a short fight insued before we were able to make our escape," Yao recounted.

"Nergui will not give up easily. He will continue to hunt for us. I assume he is unaware of our location,got rid of all the tracking devices?" agent Winter asked in a stern voice,looking through the cases that agent China and the others had brought with them.

"What do you take me for,aru? I am not new to this sort of thing,may I remind you," Yao answered curtly,his honey brown eyes showing a hint of insult.

"Amelia,you're alright! You had me a bit worried about you there...," Arthur breathed a sigh of relief,helping the two young women off the floor.

"Hey,Iggy! You came too?" Amelia exclaimed happily,grinning wildly at the Brit.

"Of course I bloody well did,you yank! Once I found out that your mission was bogus,and that you could be in danger,I wasn't about to stand by and do nothing!" Arthur replied in a somewhat cross tone,his mouth set in a thin line.

"Ohonhonhon! Arthur,mon ami,it has been much too long!" Francis came in laughing,wrapping his arms mischieviously around the slightly shorter man.

"F-Frog,get off me! Unhand me this instant!" Arthur barked,struggling to get away from the Frenchman.

"Hey,Maddie,c'mon over here! You gotta say hey to Ivan and Katyusha!" Amelia said excitedly,pulling her twin over to the table near the back of the room where Katyusha and Ivan were. "Maddie,Ivan and Katyusha. Ivan and Kat,meet my twin sis Maddie!" she introduced quickly,her face lit up with excitement.

"Eh...H-Hello," Madeline greeted shyly,fussing with her glasses nervously.

"It's so nice to meet you! Amelia has told me a bit about you,Madeline," Katyusha replied exuberantly.

"O-Oh? Really?" Madeline asked,hoping that it hadn't been anything embarrassing.

Amelia waited expectantly for Ivan to say something;but he remained silent,a faraway look in his amethyst eyes. Amelia frowned at the Russian's lack of interest. "Hey,Red,mind being sociable for once? C'mon,this is my sister! At least say hi!" she pouted,her hands on her hips.

Ivan blinked,snapped out of his thoughts by Amelia's voice,and shifted his attention to the American. "I'm sorry,what?" he asked,his mind still distracted by the memories that had resurfaced. _I still feel like I'm not remembering everything from that night..._

"Geez,you're a slow mover when you've just woken up,Red. This is my sister Maddie," Amelia repeated,rolling her blue eyes as she slung an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Sister? You have a sister?" Ivan wondered out loud,glancing at the young woman curiously. _They do look very similar to each other. Interesting..._

"Duh! I totally told you about Maddie before...right?" Amelia said,scratching her head as she thought. _Uh...well,maybe I didn't...Oh well,he doesn't need to know that! I'll just act like he was the one to forget_,Amelia plotted,a sly grin making its way onto her face.

"Y-You're agent Russia!" Madeline piped,trying to hide behind her sister as Ivan's gaze fell on her.

"Yup,he sure is! The one and only!" Amelia grinned brightly,oblivious to her sister's discomfort.

"So,you're agent Russia,hm? You looked different in your files...," Arthur mumbled,looking the Russian over. _If anyone could kill with a look...it would definitely be him..._,he thought,gulping.

"I imagine anything in my files is outdated...Who are you,anyway?" Ivan asked,a wary look on his face.

"Arthur Kirkland,agent England," the Brit stated,staring the Russian down.

"Sorry to break up this...touching reunion,but we need to discuss something very serious," agent Winter said dryly,gathering everyone's attention to him.

* * *

><p>Agent Mongolia stepped silently out of the car,his eyes resting on the apartment building in anticipation. He turned to the other agents with him. "I want you two to go around the back," he ordered,motioning at agent Japan and Germany,"I'll take this one with me," he continued,placing a rough hand on agent Italy's shoulder.<p>

"B-But,I want to go with Ludwig...," Feliciano whimpered,sending the blond German a frightened look.

"You will do as you are told,or you will face the consequences...," Nergui growled,leaning in closer to the Italian's ear. "You wouldn't want your friends getting hurt,now would you? And what about your brother...," he trailed off in a low whisper,delighting in how the younger agent began to tremble.

Feliciano's gaze flickered between his fellow agents,giving a shakey nodd. "V-Ve...Alright,I-I'll go with agent Mongolia...," he agreed,trying to not burst into terrified tears.

Nergui released the other agent,a smug grin on his face. "Good...Now,let's go. Stay focused,I don't want any screw ups," he said,heading quietly towards the stairs that led to the second floor of apartments.

Agent Germany placed a hesitant hand on the trembling Italian's shoulder,and tried to muster up a reassuring expression. "You'll be fine,Feliciano...Just try to stay out of the way,alright?" he said,waiting for the smaller man's confirmation before heading to the back of the building with agent Japan.

Agent Italy followed after agent Mongolia,the man's threat still bumping around in his head. _B-But,we're on the same side,right? Why would he threaten to hurt Ludwig and Kiku? I really don't want to do this...it feels wrong..._

* * *

><p>"You," Nikolai muttered,pointing at agent England,"You're from the information sector,correct?"<p>

"Um,yes...," Arthur answered,swallowing nervously. _Agent Winter! He's even more terrifying than agent Russia!_

"That's what I thought. Good...So,are you capable of hacking into The Foundation's security system?" agent Winter asked gruffly,shoving a laptop into the Brit's arms.

"I...uh,the security system? Do you know how bleeding hard that's going to be? It's damn near impossible to do!" Arthur exclaimed indignantly.

"Hm,so your files were wrong? It said that you are incredibly gifted at...hacking,among other computer related workings," Nikolai said in a slightly disappointed tone,giving a shrug of his shoulders.

Ivan narrowed his eyes at agent Winter,recognizing the tone that the older man was using. _He certainly hasn't changed...Manipulative bastard..._,he thought sourly to himself,growling under his breath.

"That talent of yours is why The Foundation took you in,or am I mistaken?" Nikolai continued,his icy eyes meeting the emerald green of agent England.

"Well,yes...," Arthur sighed,"I'll see what I can do,but I make no guarantees. The Foundation's security system is incredibly hard to break through. There are always a minimum of twenty agents working on it;perfecting its defenses,fixing bugs,and handling anyone foolish enough to try and hack into the system. Even if I can break through its firewalls,and other protection,it will only take about ten seconds for someone to catch the trespassing and block me out,if they don't find me while I'm trying to get in," he said,booting the laptop up.

"Just get in...," agent Winter growled,turning his back to the blond man as he began working.

Arthur grumbled something under his breath,his fingers moving nimbly over the keyboard.

"So,I am assuming you have a plan,aru? It's about time you told the rest of us," Yao inquired,a serious expression on his thin face. "Aside from acquiring the weapons and getting out of headquarters with agent England,you have told me nothing."

"I have some questions as well," Francis stepped in,his tone serious. "When we first came here,you told us that The Foundation was started back in 1961 and that it was backed by many in the government. Then,you said that today it doesn't operate under the government's supervision. If the government does not have control of it,who is doing all of this?"

"So I did," agent Winter murmured,turning back to the others in the room. "After working for the goverment for most of his life,John Mortimer began to see the world quite differently. He had seen the terrible things that a powerful government can do,and came to the conclusion that those currently in power were corrupt beyond repair. He then decided to correct the mistakes of governments,by eliminating all those he considered to be corrupt that held any power in a country."

"In 1992 John Mortimer went to the United States' president,who at that time was Clinton,and tried to incur the president's support in his purge of political power. He brought up his plans for the human weapon experiment,going into great detail about it. After that meeting,The Foundation was shut down by the US government."

"Despite this,The Foundation continued to operate,though it was no longer constrained by the government it formerly served. Its activities turned erratic,but the agents in the organization's employ thought nothing of it;they were told nothing of The Foundation's suppossed dissolution,and continued to do as they were ordered. All missions were focused on political figures from then on,most as assassinations."

"The following year The Foundation's commissioner started up his human weapon experiment. To keep governments from gaining too much power,John Mortimer wanted agents that could enforce his ideas of what a government should do. He needed agents that could perform on a higher level than the ones at his disposal. The experiment's results were not what he wanted at first with the agents he was using,so he went on to more radical tests. Many agents failed to complete the training,most were killed in the process. Agent Roman Empire and Germania were just two of the agents that became casualties of this experiment. But,not long after their deaths,the commissioner found an agent that could stand up to the harsh training," Nikolai explained,his eyes shifting to Ivan.

"Everything that The Foundation's been doing since 1992 has been from John Mortimer's insanity. Every mission,every death...all were unwarranted," he said,sitting down in one of the chairs wearily.

"So...everything we've been doing...it's all been wrong," Madeline breathed,licking her dry lips.

"But...why didn't anybody suspect anything? If you knew all this,why didn't you do something sooner?" Amelia demanded,stepping forward slightly.

"Do what,exactly? If the commissioner got word of anyone betraying him to the government,they would be killed before they could do anything," Nikolai hissed,his fingers druming on the arm of the chair.

"Oh,how right you are,Zima," agent Mongolia laughed as he burst into the apartment,his gun aimed at the salt and pepper haired man.

A shakey agent Italy followed close behind,his gun aimed at no one in particular as it shook in his hand.

Agent China,France,and America brought their guns out;aiming them at the intruders. Agent England stopped his work on the laptop,his eyes going wide in shock. Agent Canada drew her gun out as well,but she stayed close to the defenseless Katyusha. Agent Russia edged closer to the stunned Arthur,seeing the Brit's gun at the holster around his waist.

"Don't move!" agent Germany bellowed,coming into the room suddenly,his gun aimed at Ivan.

Agent Japan came up behind Ludwig,his face expressionless as he scanned over the scene with dull brown eyes.

"Well,well...this _is_ my lucky day! All of the traitors in one place...Let's have some fun," Nergui said in an excited voice,running his tongue along the tips of his canine teeth.

* * *

><p>медвежонок = Bear cub or teddy bear <strong>in Russian<strong>

солнышко = Sweetheart,darling,dear,or angel **in Russian**

тихий ниже,Иван = Calm down,Ivan **in Russian**

конец = Stop **in Russian**


	21. Free Falling

"Well,you're all in a very bad situation here. And for what,exactly? The delusions of a mentally unstable killer...Not worth dying over,in my opinion," agent Mongolia said in a smug voice,a dark grin on his tanned face.

Agent Mongolia's black gaze fell on Amelia,a smirk twisting his face. "So,you're agent America...I can see why the commissioner chose you. How pathetic...You're still a child!" he scoffed,malice dancing in his black hole eyes.

"What'd you say,creep?" Amelia bristled,her grip tightening on her gun.

Agent Mongolia merely chuckled. "What a ragtag group you've got here,Zima. Two untested rookies,an information checker,a failure of an undercover agent,a bleeding heart,and the result of a defunct experiment...Honestly,I'm...disappointed. Ah,but who is this?" Nergui asked,stalking over to Katyusha,ignoring the many guns trained on him.

"D-Don't come any closer,eh!" Madeline said,her expression determined,though her voice showed her fear.

"She does not concern you,_Nergui_," agent Winter snarled,rising from his chair angrily. He stopped when agent Italy whirled around to aim at him with a shakey hand.

"Oh,but she does! She is one of _her_ children...," agent Mongolia spat out,continuing his advance. Nergui grinned,his gun pointed at Madeline and Katyusha.

Amelia immediately switched her aim from agent Italy to agent Mongolia,but she noticed Ivan moving into action as well and held off firing.

Nergui was just about to pull the trigger of his gun when someone twisted his arm so that the bullet went straight into the floor. He turned his head to glare at Ivan,fury in his eyes. "Ah,son of Winter...you are always so troublesome," he muttered darkly,his eyes narrowing.

"You will not harm my sister," Ivan snarled,his hand tightening around Nergui's forearm.

"Sir,shouldn't we-"

"Silence!" agent Mongolia shouted,cutting off agent Germany. "It seems that agent Russia wants to play...," he purred,swinging his free arm around in a punch.

Ivan easily blocked it,catching the other man's fist with a crushing force. Nergui growled,and kneed Ivan in the stomach,but it didn't have enough power to stun the Russian. Ivan headbutted agent Mongolia viciously,the man's gun clattering from his hand as he reeled back from the blow.

Nergui hissed in pain,drawing a curved dagger from his boot as he regained his balance. "Do you remember this? _J__īn hu__ánɡ sè de ji__ān duān_*,Golden Fang,left many scars on you...do you remember the pain?" he asked,running his index finger along the curve of the blade in a loving manner.

Ivan stopped himself from touching the scars on his neck,flashes of memories coming into his mind.

_Someone grabbed Ivan from behind;a hand covering his mouth,effectively silencing his scream. Ivan struggled against the strong hold on him,but he couldn't get away._

_"Stop squirming,you little rat," a voice hissed in his ear as the man lifted the boy off of the blood soaked bed. "If you make a sound or try to get away...I'll have to teach you a painful lesson on how to behave."_

_Ivan shook at the tone in the slick voice whispering next to his cheek,his small fingers attempting to pry the man's hand from his mouth. He let out a muffled whimper when he felt the cold metal of a dagger against his neck._

_"Ah,ah...I thought I told you...no squirming," the man purred;drawing the curved blade across the boy's neck,carving a long gash in the pale flesh._

_Ivan cried out in pain,kicking out desperately,but his cries were muffled by the man's hand. _

_"Nergui!" a cold voice roared from the doorway,Nikolai reaching for his gun._

_Agent Mongolia smirked darkly as he switched out his dagger for a gun,shooting agent Winter in the stomach. _

_Nikolai fell to his knees,clutching at the wound. His icy eyes wandered over to Anfisa's unmoving,red drenched body,and then back to agent Mongolia. "Release him...and I will kill you quickly...," he growled,rage burning in his eyes. _

_"No,I think not. This little brat is your weakness,and you won't risk hitting him with a shot,so you won't do anything. Now,you will suffer as I had to...You will watch as I take what you love and tear it down until there is nothing left," Nergui spat,glancing at the woman's still body._

_Nikolai's eyes narrowed to angry slits,"You never had her...She pitied you,and those were the only feelings she ever had for you."_

_Agent Mongolia's grip tightened on Ivan in his fury,his fingers digging into the boy's cheek. "That bitch suddenly decided she had __**standards**__...and yet,she threw herself at you as much as she could!" he hissed out,moving toward the doorway._

_Agent Winter launched himself at the Asian man in a blind rage,but Nergui hit him in the side of the head with the butt of his gun. Nikolai was stunned long enough for agent Mongolia to slip past him._

"Yes,you remember. You didn't want to cooperate that night...and you weren't going to play nice. But,I taught you what I did to naughty children that didn't want to play _nice_," agent Mongolia whispered in a slick voice,the hand that held the knife lashing out.

Amelia fired her gun,hitting agent Mongolia in the upper arm. Madeline and Katyusha backed away,startled by the gunshot,not wanting to get hit.

Agent Winter knocked the gun out of agent Italy's hand,holding the paralyzed Italian at gunpoint.

"Feliciano!" agent Germany bellowed,shifting his aim from Ivan to Nikolai. _I told him to stay out of the way! Damn it!_ His fierce blue eyes darted down when he felt a hand on his gun arm.

"Wait...Do not act rashly,Bielschmidt-san*," agent Japan murmured,his dull brown eyes revealing nothing of his thoughts.

The blond German let his breath hiss out slowly,trying to reign in his anger. "What do you propose we do then? Whatever advantage we had coming into this we have now lost," Ludwig muttered in a low voice,his piercing blue eyes shifting around the room carefully.

"Read the mood,Bielschmidt-san...Look at the signs,and you can make an informed decision," Kiku replied calmly,lowering his gun ever so slightly.

"You are not considering...?" Ludwig trailed off,his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

"You little bitch!" Nergui snarled in a feral rage,his black eyes pinning a hateful look on Amelia. He gasped when Ivan's fist slammed into his gut,but he was able to block the second punch. "Do not think I forgot about you," he hissed,dragging his curved dagger across Ivan's arm,the blade leaving a trail of red in its wake.

"I won't _let _you forget about me...You will suffer me until you can no longer draw breath," Ivan said,his voice a deadly whisper. He grabbed agent Mongolia's wrist,overpowering the Asiatic man until the dagger was turned toward the other man. Ivan grinned as he forced the dagger between agent Mongolia's ribs,burying the curved blade up to the hilt.

Nergui's mouth worked silently,his face contorting in pain as his own weapon was twisted around in his flesh. Blood seeped out from the wound and began collecting in his mouth,making him choke. _No...I will not die here...__**I **__will suffer __**him**__? No,__**he **__will suffer __**me**__!_ Nergui's eyes were drawn to the spot of red that had formed at Ivan's left shoulder. _Hm,an injury..._,he thought,his eyes narrowing. Agent Mongolia fisted his hands together,raising them above his head before slamming them down on Ivan's left shoulder.

Ivan howled in pain,backing away from agent Mongolia as he clutched at his injured shoulder.

Anger flashed across Amelia's face as she launched herself at agent Mogolia;completely forgeting about the gun in her hand as she landed a punch on the Asian man's jaw,sending him crashing to the floor. She snorted victoriously when the man remained on the floor,not moving. "Damn straight,creeper!" Amelia huffed,her face flushed with anger.

"Don't either of you make any foolish movements. Drop your weapons and line up against the wall,where I can see you," agent Winter ordered,pushing the near sobbing agent Italy forward.

Agent Japan glanced at the now unconcsious agent Mongolia,then briefly at agent China. "Hai*...," he muttered,slowly dropping his gun to the floor and backing up against the wall.

"What are you doing? We cannot just surrender! We have orders-"

"Agent Germany,there is more to this than what we have been told...I was suspicious when agent Mongolia first approached us,but now I know that something is not right here," Kiku interrupted,turning a serious look on the German.

"We do not want to hurt you three,it is obvious that Nergui has tricked or forced you into doing this! Kiku...I know you would not go along with something like this if you knew what was really happening,aru," Yao said,going over to his younger brother's side.

"Why did you not ask for my help,brother?" Kiku inquired,his voice soft.

Yao could tell that his younger brother was hurt by his apparent lack of trust,and guilt flooded the Chinese man instantly. "It is not that I don't trust you,aru...I just...I did not want you getting caught up in this! You understand that,yes?" he replied,trying to look the younger man in the eye.

Agent Germany watched this interaction closely,his gaze dropping to the limp body of agent Mongolia. "What is going on here? I demand to know!" he rumbled,hesitantly relinquishing his weapon to agent Winter.

"You aren't really in a position to be making demands of any kind," Francis commented,searching the three agents for any other weapons.

"Watch where you put your hand," Ludwig grumbled,the urge to smash the Frenchman's face in was very strong.

"Oh,I'm watching," Francis chuckled,winking at the German.

"Bloody pervert...," Arthur muttered under his breath,a look of disgust plain on his face. He turned back to the laptop in front of him,his fingers moving nimbly over the keyboard.

"Ve,what's going to happen to us,Ludwig? I'm too young to be tortured and die a horrible,painful,bloody death!" Feliciano wailed,hugging the taller blond in desperation.

"Get off of me,dummkopf*! Try to have some dignity!" agent Germany yelled,trying to pry the Italian off of himself.

"Hey,Maddie,you alright?" Amelia asked,hurrying over to her sister. "That bastard didn't hurt you,did he?"

"No,Melie,I'm fine...Actually,if it weren't for agent R-Russia,I don't know if I could've defended myself...when it came down to it," Madeline said,sending a grateful look toward Ivan.

Amelia let out a little gasp,turning around suddenly to ask if the Russian was okay. "Shit,you alright? You took a pretty nasty hit to your shoulder again," she said,worry edging into her voice.

"Perfect...," Ivan muttered,waving off a sobbing Katyusha as she fussed over him. He turned a hard look at agent Winter,locking eyes with the older man. _Why did he keep calling me 'son of Winter'? I'll have to get some answers from him later..._,he thought to himself darkly,testing his injured shoulder carefully.

"T-That was so...so very terrifying!" Katyusha cried,fisting her hands into Ivan's shirt stressfully.

"Do not worry,mon amour,we will keep you safe," Francis said in a comforting tone,sidling up to the crying woman. He tried his best to ignore the chilling glares that were being sent his way from Ivan and agent Winter.

"O-Oh,thank you,Francis. I feel a bit safer knowing that..," Katyusha sniffled,giving the wavy haired blond a shakey smile.

"How did they even find us,aru? We got rid of all tracking devices,so it couldn't of been that," agent China wondered out loud,his honey brown eyes dark with thought.

"Agent Mongolia was tracking agent America's phone...Did you not deal with her phone as well?" Kiku asked slowly,trying not to sound rude or disrespectful to his older brother.

"A-Aiyah! Stupid British man! You did not tell me that agent America's phone was still being tracked,aru! You could have gotten all of us killed!" Yao spun around,yelling some chioce Chinese obsenities at Arthur.

Arthur didn't look up from the laptop's screen,a look of serious concentration on his face. "I didn't bloody have time to disconnect the damned thing before all of this happened! I've only known about the extent of corruption in The Foundation for several days and then you practically press-ganged me into joining your merry group of vengance mongers,I'm assaulted by a madman,and then forced into trying to break into The Foundation's near impregnable defense system by yet another sociopath! Exscuse me for being a tad bit overwhelmed!" he retorted hotly,his usually snobbish British accent devolving into a lower class Londoner's in his anger.

"Both of you be quiet...We don't have time for insignificant bickering. Agent America,destroy that phone immediately. I want you two," Nikolai pointed at agents France and China,"to watch our captives while agent Russia and I deal with Nergui. We don't have much time to act,so we must devise a plan of attack now. We cannot stay here any longer,The Foundation will continue to come after us. It's about time that we bring the fight to them,on their own turf," he said in an authoritative voice,motioning for Ivan to help him with the unconscious man's body.

Ivan scowled at being ordered around by the older man,but he remained silent. There was a time and place for everything,and what he wanted to say wasn't appropriate at the moment.

"Um...do you need me to do anything?" Madeline piped up,shifting nervously.

Agent Winter raised an eyebrow at the soft spoken young woman,thinking. "That van you came in,make sure that it hasn't been tampered with in any way by agent Mongolia. Also start moving everything back into the van,agent America can help you with that once she's destroyed her phone. We'll be leaving as soon as possible,so get moving," he replied,grunting slightly as he grabbed agent Mongolia's legs and hefted the unconscious man with Ivan's help.

Ivan couldn't help but smirk at how old agent Winter sounded,but his smug look dropped instantly when he nearly tripped over Tony. "Damn dog...," he muttered under his breath,glaring pointedly at the pug dog.

Tony gave him a happy little bark before trotting off to Amelia.

* * *

><p>"So,Melie...you seem to get along well with agent Russia," Madeline commented,glancing at her twin as the two made their way down the stairs to the parking lot.<p>

"Huh? Oh,yeah,sure I do! I get along with everybody!" Amelia replied cheekily,grinning wildly at her sister.

"Of course you do...but,that's not exactly what I meant. I mean,you seem to like him...a lot,and he seems to like you too," the quieter twin specified,fumbling slightly with the case she was carrying.

"Well...I don't know...Maybe," Amelia huffed out,her face turning slightly red.

Madeline smiled,jabbing her sister in the side playfully with her elbow,"I knew it,eh! When you were talking about him,I sort of had a feeling,but I couldn't be positively sure. But your face right now just confirms my suspicions...Melie,you're in love!"

"I am not! Gah,you've been talkin' with Frenchie,haven't you?" Amelia blurted out,jumping the rest of the way down the stairs.

"Oh,come on,Melie! I'm your sister,I know everything about you! I'd notice something like this. What's so bad about it? I mean,sure,he's kind of...intimidating-"

"He's not that bad,Maddie! He's just acting tough and stupid...and...stop lookin' at me like that! I'm the one in love with him,not you,so-" Amelia slapped a hand over her mouth,her blue eyes going wide at what she'd just said.

Madeline nearly laughed out loud,but settled for giggling behind the case in her hands. "See,you admit it!" she exclaimed,giggling at how red her sister's face had gotten.

"I...I-You set me up! So what? I like him...There,I said it,happy?" Amelia grumbled,now finding it very easy to destroy her phone as she stomped on the little device.

"Yup,very. But,Melie...please be careful with this. I don't want to see you get hurt,eh," Madeline said,her expression turning somewhat serious and worried.

"I'm not gonna get hurt,Maddie. C'mon,I'm the hero! And the hero never gets hurt!" Amelia exclaimed loudly,doing her hero pose.

"Yeah,maybe...but this is a little different. So,have you two kissed yet?" Madeline asked mischieviously,setting down the case she was carrying so that she could open up the van.

"Are you kidding me?" Amelia whined,throwing her hands up in exasperation.

* * *

><p>"So,mon ami,how have you been doing without my gorgeousness around?" Francis asked in a teasing tone,coming up behind the Brit as he continued to work.<p>

"Would you stop breathing down my neck,you wine drinking ninny! It's actually been quite blissful without you around...until now," Arthur muttered,shrugging off the Frenchman testily.

"You wound me,Arthur. Well,I'll have you know that I've been having a marvelous time trying to get Amelia to realize her amour for agent Russia. It's been a bit challenging,but I think I've made a breakthrough," Francis chuckled,waiting for the other's reaction.

"Well,that's just bloody brilliant - Wait...You've been doing what?"Arthur exploded,twisting around to face the other blond. "How could you-? Do you even know-? I'm going to-! She's just-! He'll-! _Francis..._What did you do...," he hissed out,his face livid.

"Ohonhonhonhon! Nothing they wouldn't of found out on their own eventually. I'm just speeding up the process a little,non? Besides,can't you just see them together? Ah,young love is so beautiful," Francis sighed happily,prancing away from the frothing Englishman.

Arthur rose from his seat slowly,shaking with unbridled rage. "You...You...cheese-eating surrender monkey! You wine-loving tool! Bloody pervert! I'm going to rip that scraggly,pathetic excuse for a beard right off your slimey face,wanker!" he yelled,launching himself at the Frenchman.

Francis' laugh was cut off when the Brit tackled him to the floor. "You uncouth punk! Attacking a man when his back is turned! That is not very gentlemanly,you tea-sipping loner!" he shouted back as the two grappled on the floor.

* * *

><p>"What the hell is going on in there? Those idiots better not have let their guard down with those three agents," Nikolai growled as he stomped back into the other room once he had finished handcuffing agent Mongolia to a chair in the kitchen.<p>

"They are probably just doing something stupid...," Ivan muttered as he followed the older man out into the other room,his expression one of boredom. _But if it involves agent France...I'd rather make sure that Katya isn't in the room with him._

As the two agents left the room,they were unable to see agent Mongolia lift his head,a smirk playing on his cracked lips. "Fools," he chuckled under his breath,shifting in the chair slightly. He grimaced as he broke his thumb,but his dark smile returned when he slipped his hand out of the cuffs,repeating the action to free his other hand.

He soundlessly slipped out the back door,planning what to do next.

* * *

><p>"What are you morons doing?" agent Winter roared as he entered the room,glaring at the two men fighting rather unceremoniously on the floor.<p>

"Whoa,what the?" Amelia exclaimed as she and Madeline came back from the van,a confused look on her face.

"You punk,you sucker punched me! My beautiful face!"

"Bloody wanker! I'll do so much worse to you and that ugly mug of yours!"

"You two are so childish,aru!"

"Ve,Ludwig,maybe I should make some pasta? Pasta makes everything better!"

"Nien,that is unacceptable! What is wrong with you,agent Italy?"

"Please,don't yell,Bielschmidt-san..."

"Oh,Niki,please make them stop!"

"Nyet,I think we should let them fight it out and see who comes out the winner. That would be entertaining,da?"

"Um...I don't know about that,eh..."

Agent Winter let out an agitated sigh,rubbing at his eyes. _And here I thought they were all professional...It's like taking care of a bunch of third graders..._,he thought wearily to himself. "I'm not dealing with this...," he muttered,turning back to the kitchen.

"Dudes,cool down!" Amelia shouted over the two men's yelling,pulling Francis off of Arthur. "Mind helping,Red?" she asked,motioning with her eyes for Ivan to grab a hold of the steaming Brit.

Ivan pouted,having wanted to see the two duke it out,but he restrained the shaggy haired Brit none the less.

"I'll bite your bleedin' legs off!" Arthur snarled,struggling furiously in the Russian's grip,despite being held several inches off the ground.

"You are just jealous of my superior looks,you snaggle-toothed crumpet!" Francis shot back,fixing his hair.

"Why you-" Arthur was cut off by Ivan covering his mouth with his hand. He kicked out and thrashed,contemplating biting the Russian.

"Don't even think about it,da? If you bite me,I'll bite back," Ivan hummed in the other's ear,grinning when the Brit froze.

"Okay,dudes,the hero is here. Now,what happened?" Amelia asked,letting go of agent France once he promised not to start anything.

"Well,I was having a pleasant conversation-"

"Like hell you were,wanker! You were provoking me!" Arthur burst out,wriggling around enough to free his mouth from Ivan's hand.

"I did no such thing! I merely mentioned how cute you and Ivan were together," Francis retorted,turning to Amelia with a mischievious smile on his face.

"You did what?" Amelia and Ivan shouted,both turning slightly red.

"It's not true,is it,Amelia? He was just being a prick...right?" Arthur demanded,his green eyes shifting from the embarrassed American to the embarrassed Russian.

"Well,I mean...y'know?" Amelia babbled,giving a shrug of her shoulders.

"Oh...bloody hell...," Arthur murmured,shaking his head in bewilderment.

Agent Winter stood in the doorway to the kitchen,a shocked look on his pale face. _He's gone...How did he escape?_ He turned back to the other agents,a stoney expression on his face to hide his racing thoughts. "We have another problem," he stated seriously. Nikolai's tone dragged all attention to him.

* * *

><p>Translations for this chapter. Again,if I'm wrong in my usage of any of these words or phrases,please tell me.<p>

_J__īn hu__ánɡ sè de ji__ān duān_: Golden Fang** in Chinese**

-san: A **Japanese** honorific for someone who is higher in rank and/or age

Hai: Yes **in Japanese**

Dummkopf: Idiot,blockhead,ect. **in German**


	22. Up Against the Wall

"Agent Mongolia has escaped...We need to leave immediately," agent Winter said bluntly,as he slowly came back into the room.

"How did he get away?" Ivan demanded in a low angered voice.

"That is not important. We don't have time,we need to leave," Nikolai deflected,starting for the door. Ivan stepped in front of him,though,halting his progress.

"Make time. You will tell us your plan now," The Russian countered,standing in the older man's way. "I will not risk-" Ivan paused,clearing his throat as he glanced quickly over at Amelia,"I will not risk losing my chance at taking down The Foundation," he spat out,finding the excuse hollow now. "You haven't told us anything,so why should I not believe this all to be some sort of elaborate trap?"

"And what would the point in that be? If I were really trying to take you back to The Foundation,I would have done so when you were unconscious," Nikolai spat,a scowl on his face.

"So,what's the plan now? Where're we headed?" Amelia asked,stepping in between the two Russians as a buffer and as a way to deflect Arthur's inquiry into her and Ivan's relationship.

"We will be striking at The Foundation's headquarters. It's time to bring the fight to them,and though I would prefer to be better prepared than this,we don't have much of a choice but to go now," agent Winter answered gruffly,checking his gun quickly.

"And what are we going to do about these blokes?" Arthur muttered,gesturing at agents Germany,Japan,and Italy.

"We could just turn them in to the police for breaking and entering...No one would believe them about The Foundation or being agents," Francis suggested in a thoughtful tone,rubbing his chin slowly.

"We could just kill them...," Ivan growled out,glaring at the three dangerously.

"That's not fair! They were forced into doing this! How's that any different than you?" Amelia bristled,defending the other three agents.

"It isn't,but I don't trust them," Ivan ground out,not taking his eyes from the three agents up against the wall.

"But you trust me?" Amelia breathed,her sapphire eyes trying to meet with his amethyst ones beseechingly.

The Russian's eyes flickered down to the American's,lingering. "That's different...," he replied softly.

"Y'know,I was the enemy not that long ago...But you trust me _now_,so trust me on _this_. C'mon,if they do anything,then you can go all kick ass on them,but for now...don't. Give 'em a chance," Amelia said,giving a confident smile.

Ivan made a noise low in his throat,letting out a gusty sigh as he uncoiled from his tense stance. He frowned slightly when Amelia grinned at him,though there was a faint dusting of pink on his face as he turned his head away from the beaming American.

Nikolai glanced at Amelia with a well hidden impressed expression. _She can pacify him so easily...Even when he was young,I couldn't calm him down like that._

"Hold the phone! You never really answered my question,Amelia," Arthur butted in,sputtering furiously. His thick eyebrows knitted together as he paced agitatedly,the laptop forgotten on the table.

Amelia fussed with her glasses,her face red. "Could we not talk about this now,Iggy?" she asked in an embarrassed and anxious tone.

"I would agree with that completely. This is irrelevent at the moment," Nikolai grumbled,moving on quickly to the matter at hand. "It doesn't matter if we trust them or not,they'll have to come along as well. Never know when they might come in handy," said Nikolai.

"We will not help you take down The Foundation! Not that you can with such a small group. Do you people not understand what you're up against?" agent Germany demanded,sharp blue eyes trying to glean their reasoning by just looking.

"Oh,it's quite possible,agent Germany. The best way to dismantle an operation like this is to take out its leader...All we need to do is kill John Mortimer,and then we let the government deal with the rest," Nikolai explained.

"So,we're going to have to sneak _back_ into the bloody Foundation's headquarters?" Arthur burst out,outraged at this plan.

"That is your plan,aru? Are you...sure about this,agent Winter?" Yao questioned,sounding doubtful.

"It _will_ work," Nikolai hissed,turning to Katyusha," You should pack whatever you think you will need,you will be coming with us...at least until I find a safer place for you."

Katyusha hesitated,but her expression turned more determined and assertive. "No,I want to help. I know I can't do much,but I will do what I can. Nikki,you can't send me away...not now. Let me help," she said,her mouth drawn into a thin line.

Agent Winter said nothing,his eyes showing his conflicting emotions.

"Katya...you can't do this...," Ivan murmured,his amethyst eyes fierce.

"I agree with Jean on this. It is much too dangerous for you,mon amour,you could get killed!" Francis exclaimed,hands on his hips.

"And so could any of us...What's the harm in letting her come,eh?" Madeline pipped up,her murky blue eyes set in a sympathetic look. "When I didn't know what was happening with Amelia it was the worst feeling ever...So,at the very least,Katyusha can know what's going on with us. I wouldn't want anyone to feel that sort of worry."

Katyusha bit her lip,tears forming in her eyes. "Oh,Madeline,thank you!" she cried,as she captured the slightly shorter woman in a tackle hug.

"N-No problem,eh!" Madeline squeaked out,trying to break out of the surprisingly tight hug.

"I still didn't get a concrete answer from Amelia," Arthur digressed stubbornly.

"Ah,mon ami,did you not get your answer? Is it not obvious? They are in love! No matter that they're trying to deny it at the moment," Francis chuckled lightly,winking at the Brit.

"What? No!" Arthur exploded.

"Nonsense! This is a wonderful thing,non?" Francis asked,jabbing Ivan in the side with his elbow and waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"I need a drink...," Ivan muttered,looking around for his jacket and the flask he always kept in it.

"Hey! What's that s'possed to mean?" Amelia demanded,sending a slightly pissed look at the Russian. "You alcoholic commie!"

"I am _not _an alcoholic!"

"Yeah,sure you aren't. _Everybody_ drinks vodka like it's water!"

"It's _Russian_ water,not my fault you can't stomach it!"

"I only spit it out because it tasted like skunk piss!"

"And you know from personal experience?"

"Aw,their first fight,eh," Madeline sighed,rolling her eyes at the two.

"It's not their first fight,I can assure you," Francis hummed,a pleased smirk on his face.

"Never mind that,aru,what are we going to do next,agent Winter?" Yao asked,ignoring the younger agents as they argued.

Agent Winter sighed,running a hand through his greying hair. "Everyone get ready to leave...," he said,heading out of the apartment.

As the rest of the group prepared to leave,Ivan caught Amelia before she left the room. "Wait...," he said in a low voice,glancing around to make sure no one else was watching or listening in. "Was what Francis said true...about you having feelings for me?" he asked,trying to keep his emotions in check and not show on his face.

Amelia floundered,her face flushing red. "I...uh,well,I...We should get goin'!" she stammered out,practically running from the apartment.

Ivan stared after the sandy blonde woman,trying to ignore the icy sting that tore through his chest at Amelia running away. _Did I do something wrong?_ he thought desperately,a frown on his face.

Amelia panted as she reached the bottom of the staris;her heart racing,but not on account of the short run. _Why'd I do that? God,I'm such a freaking idiot!_ she mentally beat herself up,staring longingly at the second floor of the building.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's<strong>**Note**

I'm so sorry that this is so late! It was giving me a really hard time for some reason,and then I got sick...I wanted to make it longer,but I didn't want to force anything and have it suck. Hopefully I'll get the next chapters out quicker than this one.^^' Thanks for stickin' with me and continuing to read Amethyst Haze!^o^y


	23. A Shadow Stalks Near

Nergui hissed in pain as he pulled himself under the van,the cracked asphalt tugging at his bloody clothes. He quickly searched his person for the device he desired,silently cursing as it nearly slipped from his somewhat crippled grasp. He carefully placed the small,but effective,device on the ground within his reach,digging into a pocket and pulling out a tube of gel-like putty. Unscrewing the tube's cap with his teeth,he coerced a large dab of the gray putty into his hand,carefully applying it to the underside of the van and pressing the small device into it.

Before scrabbling back out from under the van,he activated the little black device,grinning slyly when it beeped into life. As he dragged himself from the underside of the van and made his way back to his own vehicle,he pressed a hand to his side,fingers dipping into the bloody wound. Nergui moaned low in his throat,digging further into the deep wound,his mouth open in twisted euphoria.

Pain,that was his sole purpose. Whether the sadist or the masochist,it mattered little to him,so long as pain was inflicted.

_"Are you alright?" _

Nergui viciously shook his head at the hauntingly sweet voice,his temporary pleasure destroyed. "Why must you taunt me,Jewel*? I did only what I could do...Was my skill not why you looked at me so longingly for? You were so beautiful,dyed in red...," he muttered,lifting bloodstained fingers up to his black eyes.

Footsteps approaching drew agent Mongolia from his memories,and he quickly ducked into his car. "Zima...," he snarled,watching as the salt and pepper haired man trudged over to the van and opened up the trunk to check several of the cases inside.

Nergui's grip tightened on the steering wheel,blood smearing on the black leather.

_"Stay away from her,Nergui...If I catch you following after her again,you'll regret every breath you take after I'm finished with you," a furious agent Winter spat,shoving the Asian man up against a wall._

_"Jealous,Nikolai? Do you feel your clawed grasp on her failing? Face it,old man,she could never choose someone like you over me," Nergui replied in a venom laced tone,his black eyes narrowed to glinting slits._

_Agent Winter's fist cracked across the other man's jaw,a cold fierceness in his eyes. "She does __**not**__ love you," he growled out,punctuating every word deliberately._

_Agent Mongolia grinned falsely,his tongue flicking out to taste the blood that welled at his lip. "And yet...here you are,trying to keep me away from her," he chuckled hysterically,pushing away from the older agent. "I will have her,agent Winter,whether by her own choice or force," Nergui said as he sauntered down the hall,leaving the other man to glare at his retreating back._

"In the end...I took her from you,and you will never be able to get her back. Soon,I will do the same to your son," Nergui uttered to himself,his lips curling back into a bloodstained grin.

* * *

><p>Agent Winter glanced up from the cases of weapons he was inspecting,hearing someone run down the stairs. "Something wrong,agent America?" he inquired in a noncommital tone,slamming the trunk of the van closed.<p>

"Yeah...I just did something really stupid," the sandy blonde grumbled,fussing with her glasses,her eyes still trained on the second floor of the building.

"And that would be?" Nikolai continued,sensing the young woman's unvoiced need to vent. He hadn't lived this long to not learn a few things about the other sex.

The American turned around,an uneasy expression on her face. "Well,I kinda ran away from Ivan when he asked me somethin' that was kinda important...I didn't mean to,I swear! I just sorta...freaked out. I didn't know what to say!" she blurted out,her face tinged red with embarrassment.

Agent Winter sighed,leaning back against the van. "Ah,I see...He's never been very subtle,despite what he may think," he hummed,watching Amelia closely.

"He's a freaking bull in a china shop with this! I mean,who the heck just comes out and asks someone if they like them?" Amelia huffed,throwing her arms up in the air to emphasize her exasperated confusion.

"Someone that has no idea what they're doing?" Nikolai offered,a slight smirk on his lips.

"Yeah,well,I don't know either," Amelia countered,puffing air up at her bangs.

"Then figure it out," Nikolai said,pushing himself off of the van as the others started to file out of the apartment and come down to the parking lot.

"But,how do I do that?" Amelia asked.

"Stop thinking. Love does not require intellect to understand,it requires something more genuine than that," Nikolai replied,digging through his jacket for a moment before producing a silver flask. He unscrewed the cap and took a drink,swishing the alcohol around in his mouth before swallowing it.

"Wow...that was actually kinda deep," Amelia commented,"Hey,is that...?"

Agent Winter put a finger to his lips,returning the flask to its place in his jacket. "He doesn't need it right now. It's bad for his health anyway," the older man said,a gleam in his icy eyes.

"Agent Winter,we're all ready to set out,aru. How are we going to split up?" agent China asked,walking up to the other man.

"I will _not_ be trapped in the same vehicle as that perverted frog!" Arthur announced,"I'll even take the psychotic behemoth over Francis."

Ivan's eye twitched in annoyance. "Would you like to repeat that?" he threatened,a dangerous grin on his face.

"Well,you're a slow-brained twit,now aren't you?" the Brit shot back,glaring hotly at the Russian.

"Arthur,don't poke the bear...He will snap your neck," Francis hissed a warning in the Brit's ear,sighing in frustration when he was shoved away.

"I don't bloody care! Who the feckin' hell do you think you are? How dare you toy with Amelia's feelings!" Arthur shouted angrily,standing toe to toe with the Russian,craning his neck back so that he could glare directly in Ivan's face.

"Iggy,c'mon,stop it...," Amelia pleaded,putting a hand on Arthur's shoulder.

"No,I will not stand by and watch you get hurt by this sick bastard!" Arthur retorted,shaking free of Amelia's hand.

"Iggy,please..."

"No,I refuse to-"

"Arthur,shut up!"

The Brit stopped in his ranting,shocked at Amelia's outburst. "A-Amelia...I...I," he stammered,unable to get anything coherent out.

"Save it,I'm really not in the mood. Can we just leave already?" the American asked,her tone low and serious. She didn't wait for a reply as she stomped over to the van and got in,slamming the passenger side door closed.

_Well,at least she didn't get into the driver's seat..._,Madeline thought,glancing shyly over at Arthur.

"Agent France,you'll be driving the van. I want agent China to be responsible for agent Japan,so he will be coming with you. Agent Russia will keep an eye on agent Germany,and will also be with you. I will take agents Canada,England,and Italy...Katyusha,you will be coming with me as well," Nikolai directed,grabbing the spacey Italian by the arm before he could wander off.

"Ve...," Feliciano whimpered,looking up at agent Winter fearfully. "C-Can't I ride with Ludwig?" he asked,a hopeful look on his face.

"No," Nikolai replied bluntly. _How did this boy even get through basic training?_ "If you're all aware of the driving arrangements,get moving."

* * *

><p>Nergui watched as the two vehicles finally pulled out of the parking lot. He started up the car and followed after them,making sure to keep a good distance away so that they wouldn't notice him. <em>I'll need to stay in range,though,if my little present is to go off correctly<em>,he thought,fingering the detonater as he came to a stop light.

_I only need agent Russia,the others are just collateral damage. I'll have to wait for them to stop and get out before I detonate the bomb,or else I'll kill my prey along with the others. As for Nikolai...I will enjoy watching the light fail in his eyes_,Nergui plotted gleefully,tailing after the group of rogue agents as traffic started to move again.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>

****Jewel: This was supposed to be in Chinese characters,but the site was having problems with it and I had to change it to English. Sorry about that.


	24. Open Fire On My Burning Heart

Agent France glanced at Amelia from the corner of his eye,a small sigh escaping his lips. "Please,cher,do not be angry with agent Angleterre*...He cares for you very much," Francis said in a hushed tone,trying to keep this conversation as private as possible.

Amelia didn't respond, as she continued to glare out the window,her entire body tense with anger.

"Arthur thinks of you as a younger sister,he wants what is best for you. Oui,he got a little carried away back there with Jean,but he felt threatened by agent Russie*. I don't know if you were ever aware of this...but Arthur has been looking out for you pretty much since you first arrived at The Foundation," Francis stated,keeping his eyes on the road.

"I'll never understand why,Arthur was always so anti-social with the other trainees,but he became very attached to you. I had never seen that stubborn fool smile before you came to The Foundation," the Frenchman continued,thinking back fondly on that memory.

Amelia's glare seemed to crumble a bit,and her eyes fell to her lap. "Yeah,I knew...I mean,how could I not? He was always...there for me. When I had a bad day in training,or I thought my room was haunted by some dead agent,he didn't mind if I barged in on whatever he was doing and just started talking or whatever," she said,the corner of her mouth twitching upward.

_"Can't get to sleep,Amelia? Your room being haunted by some dead wanker,or what not,again?" Arthur asked in an indulgent tone,looking up from his computer as the ten year old exploded into his room._

_"Yeah,and I saw him this time! It was totally freaky,but I wasn't scared or anything! I just came over here to make sure that the g-ghost didn't get you,Iggy," Amelia said,trying to sound confident as she sidled up to the Brit's desk._

_"Oh,well,thank you,Amelia," Arthur chuckled,his eyes glittering with amusement. "You know something? I just had a talk with Flying Mint Bunny about you," he said in a teasing tone,shutting the computer down for the night. _

_"Pfft,yeah right. Your stupid talking bunny doesn't exist,Iggy. I mean,bunnies don't talk! It'd be pretty cool if they did,but they __**so **__don't. They also can't fly and they aren't green," Amelia stated in a huffy voice,crossing her arms over her chest._

_"Oh,is that so? And what makes your ghosts real,you little yank?" Arthur retorted in slight irritation,his eyebrows bunched together._

_"Well...they're,y'know...Shut up!" the little girl blurted out,unable to come up with a logical answer._

_"I didn't say anything," Arthur pointed out,a smirk on his face. "So,do you want to know what Flying Mint Bunny had to say or not?"_

_Amelia sniffed,nodding stubbornly._

_"He said that if you ever get scared in your room again,because of that ghost,you should just come into my room. Minty has a special barrier up here,you see,so you'll be protected from any bad things that are after you in here," Arthur said,ruffling the sandy blond locks of the American._

_"I told you,Iggy,I wasn't scared!" Amelia repeated grouchily,swiping at the seventeen year old's hand. The American girl was quiet for a while,her blue eyes trained on a small rip in the dull carpeting of the floor. "So...is there really a barrier here?" she whispered out,still not looking up from the floor._

_"Would I lie to you? Of course there is. It will always be there when you need it,for as long as you need it," Arthur answered in a soft voice,pulling down the bed sheets. "Come along then,hop in. It's past curfew for you,and you don't want to get into trouble for being up past your bedtime," he said in a more strict tone,though it still held an underlying bit of amusement. _

_The blond girl grinned brightly at the teenager,jumping onto the small bed gleefully. She burrowed deep under the covers before popping her head out to rest on the flattened pillow,her sapphire eyes drooping sleepily. "What 'bout you,Iggy? Are you goin' to sleep too?" she asked,her question distorted slightly by a yawn._

_"Yes,in a minute or two...Now,close your eyes and go to sleep," the Brit ordered,moving to turn the light off._

_"Iggy?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Can you read me a story?" Amelia asked,her eyes shut and her hand fisted around the corner of the pillow._

_"Of course,Amelia...," Arthur answered in a quiet voice,sitting down on the floor in front of the bed. He picked up a tattered old book from his nightstand,flipping through the dry pages until he found the story he was looking for. "Once upon a time...," he began,a small smile forming on his lips as he glanced up to see that the girl was sleeping soundly,"There was a beautiful princess in a land far,far away..."_

Amelia let a smile make its way onto her face,her eyes drifting up from her lap. _Yeah...this'll work out kinda like one of your fairy tales,Iggy. I just need to figure this all out first_,she thought to herself,confidence burning in her sapphire eyes.

* * *

><p>Madeline glanced over at Arthur shyly,her dull blue eyes shimmering with concern. "Arthur...You know my sister,she can't hold onto her anger for very long. I really don't think that she was actually angry at you,not really. Amelia's just a bit frustrated right now,eh," she said,trying to be reassuring.<p>

The shaggy haired Brit sighed,his emerald eyes downcast. "I know I shouldn't take it personally,but I can't help doing so. I've helped her ever since she first came to The Foundation,ten _years_,and now I'm being pushed aside for some...some other guy that she's known for about a month!" he snarled,grinding his teeth together in frustration.

"W-Wait...do you have..._romantic_ feelings for Amelia?" Madeline asked,her eyes widening in shock.

Arthur blanched at the question,his previous anger vanishing in an instant. "Heavens,_no_! I most assuredly do _not_ think of Amelia that way!" he exclaimed,wondering how the younger woman came to such a conclusion.

"O-Oh,sorry,eh! I-I didn't mean to offend you in any way," Madeline apologized quickly,her eyes dashing away to look out the window in embarrassment.

"You didn't offend me,Madeline. It just...shocked me," Arthur said,readjusting his shirt collar nervously. _Why in the world would she ask me that? How did she even come to such a downright ridiculous conclusion?_

Madeline's ears perked up at the sound of her name being spoken,and she turned open-mouthed to Arthur again. _He...He remembered my name...No fumbling around,no mistaking me for Amelia or somebody else. He actually remembered __**me**_,she thought in pleased shock to herself,a faint blush coming to her face.

Katyusha smiled to herself as she observed the two. _Aw,they are so cute!_

"Hey,spaventoso barba*,the car that we came in with agent Mongolia is a few cars behind us. Do you think someone could have stolen it?" agent Italy asked in a concerned tone,glancing in the side view mirror anxiously.

Nikolai inhaled sharply,his eyes darting down to the mirror on the driver's side. _He's been following us this entire time...How could I be so lax with not checking the area for him?_ he berated himself mentally,his jaw clenching. Agent Winter turned the steering wheel harshly,causing the car to take a sharp turn to the right.

"Nikki,what's wrong?" Katyusha asked after righting herself,from being knocked into Arthur from the force of the turn.

"We're being followed," he answered tersely,his icy eyes hardening.

* * *

><p>"Shit,Francis! What the hell was up with that turn?" Amelia exclaimed,as the van swerved back onto the road after ending up partially on a curb after the unexpected turn.<p>

"Do not ask me! I was told to follow monsieur Zima,and that is what I am doing!" Francis retorted,as he evened out the steering wheel so that the van was going on a straight course once more.

"We are being followed...Scheiße*,that's the car that we came in. It must be agent Mongolia," agent Germany muttered,looking over his shoulder and out the back window.

"What,aru? But he was injured severely,how can he still be coming after us?" Yao exclaimed in shock,turning around in his seat to try and confirm this with his own eyes.

"Agent Mongolia is a very determined person,brother...You should know this,you have worked with him before," Kiku pointed out stoicly,glancing at his older brother.

Ivan's eyes narrowed darkly and his body tensed with seething,but controlled,rage. "Aside from that,he has been trained to withstand and work through intense pain or severe lack of sleep...The wounds that he has do not concern him whatsoever," he said gruffly,his mouth held in a slight snarl.

"That doesn't matter right now! What are we going to-"

Amelia was cut off by a concussive blast from the back of the van. The explosion caused the vehicle to flip over onto its top,skidding and crashing into traffic while still on its roof.

* * *

><p>Nergui swore as he saw the van take a sharp turn after the smaller car in front of it,knowing that he had been spotted. He quickly followed after them,making the turn aggressively. He pushed down on the gas pedal further,speeding the car up as he cut in front of the driver ahead of him.<p>

"You won't get away from me...," he muttered,fingers tightening around the steering wheel. Something on the road caught his eye as he got closer to the van,and he honed in on it quickly. Agent Mongolia's black eyes widened as he saw the small bomb that he had placed on the underside of the van tumble from where it had been placed.

_No! It must have been knocked loose when the van's underside scraped across the curb...Damn it!_ He knew he had only a few seconds to act or else the bomb would be utterly worthless. As the small device was just about to be passed up by the van's bumper,Nergui activated the detonater.

Nergui watched as the van took an indirect hit to the rear,though most of it was still intact. The vehicle was sent skidding on its roof into the opposite flow of traffic. The screech of car tires and metal colliding with metal filled the air as another vehicle slammed headlong into the side of the van,several others following closely behind it.

Agent Mongolia growled through clenched teeth as he made a U-turn to escape the increasingly chaotic scene,missing his chance to capture agent Russia. Undetered,he went through possible other plans in his head.

_Why are you doing this?_

Nergui stiffened at the voice,surprised by how _real_ it sounded. Many times had he been visited by the spectre of his love,but it was only recently that these encounters had become so vivid.

"I am doing it to free myself...So I can finally be with you," he whispered,inhaling the nonexistant woman's scent.

* * *

><p>Angleterre: England <strong>in French<strong>

Russie: Russia **in French**

spaventoso barba: scary old man **in Italian**

Scheiße: shit **in German**


	25. Actions & Reactions

Amelia's eyes slowly fluttered open as the faint sound of barking and car alarms came to her ears,the noises becoming louder as she became more aware. Her vision was blurry,her glasses having been thrown from her face during the flip over,but she could tell that the van was still upside down. _Thank God for seatbelts..._,she thought blearily,trying to clear her fuzzy mind. Amelia shifted her head around,wincing when her neck twinged painfully at the movement,to see Francis hanging limply in his seatbelt;blood trickling from his temple.

Amelia fumbled with the locked door on her side for a moment,struggling with the flipped dimensions before she could get it opened. She carefully unbuckled herself,falling from her suspended position in her seat to land on what used to be the ceiling of the van. The sandy blond shuffled backwards on all fours until she extricated herself from the overturned vehicle. She crawled over to the driver's side door,finding her way by keeping her hand on the van as she moved,and pried the dented door open. Amelia eased the unconcious agent France out of the van,being careful to avoid jostling his head too much.

"W...What happened?" came Francis' voice as he came to from being moved around,his ocean blue eyes squinting up at the American.

Amelia shook her head slowly,"I don't know..."

"Amelia! Amelia,are you alright?"

The American looked up to see her sister running over to them,worry etched onto her face as she took in the damaged van. "Yeah,Maddie,I'm fine!" Amelia replied,trying to make out her sister's slightly blurry face.

"What in the Queen's name happened? It's like the blasted thing just ignited of its own accord!" Arthur demanded in a raised voice,his concern slipping onto his face.

"Oh,S'il te plaît*...Arthur,do not be so loud,mon ami," Francis moaned,his hands cradling his head.

"That was no accidental occurrence. This was Nergui's work,there's no doubt of that. We must hurry and leave before this situation becomes anymore compromising," agent Winter said in a gruff tone as he quickly opened the sliding side door,pulling a dazed agent China out. Agent Japan followed after him,looking slightly frazzled.

A jolt of fear and worry ripped through Amelia as she remembered that Ivan was in the _back_ of the van,where the explosion had come from. She helped Francis to his feet,where he then stumbled over to Arthur and slumped up against him,a smirk on his face showing that it wasn't an innocent action of need for balance. Amelia then hurried over to the beaten up side of the van,tripping over a bit of twisted metal debris that she couldn't see without her glasses,righting herself before she could fall to the ground.

Amelia got there in time to see - or as well as she _could_ see - Ivan free himself from the wrecked van,Tony held firmly under his arm. The pug whined as he saw Amelia come into view,his body wriggling happily. From what Amelia could tell the Russian was fine,and she let out a pent up breath at this realization. "Whew,that was some shit back there,wasn't it?" she asked,mentally slapping herself for not saying what she wanted to.

Ivan gave her a confused look,gesturing to his ears. "I can't hear you," he explained,speaking a bit louder than he normally did. He let the pug dog down as it continued to struggle in his grasp,muttering something about it being an ungrateful mutt.

_He can't hear me? But...But...I got stuff to say! Well...fine! If he can't hear what I've got to say,then I'll just have to __**show**__ him!_ Amelia resolved,striding forward purposefully. She ignored the Russian's questioning look - not that she could see it very well anyway - wrapped her arms around his scarred neck and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him.

Ivan went rigid with shock,his eyes widening and his face turning a dark red.

Arthur's face turned a deep crimson as well,though for vastly different reasons,and opened his mouth to loudly protest. Before he could voice his opinions Francis clamped a hand over his mouth,effectively silencing his harping.

"Ohonhonhon! Amour has finally won out! I always knew it would," the Frenchman crowed victoriously,maintaining his hold on Arthur's mouth.

"Aw,that's so sweet!" Katyusha cooed,tears in her eyes.

Amelia tightened her grip around Ivan's neck,deepening the kiss. _Get what I'm sayin' now,Red?_ she thought,smiling against the kiss. Amelia's eyes flew open when Ivan abruptly pulled away from her,causing the blond to stumble into the Russian's chest.

"What are you doing? I don't understand...," Ivan hissed in a low voice,hinting at a barely veiled anger.

Amelia hesitated slightly,having forgotten the Russian's sometimes volatile temper. "W-Well,I...," she fumbled,searching his deep purple eyes for something,_anything_ that showed he felt the same way.

"We don't have time for this," Nikolai growled a reminder,helping a disheveled agent Germany to his feet. "The weapons are irretrievable,so there's no reason to stay here any longer. Quick,all of you,down that way," he instructed hastily,motioning to an alleyway not too far off.

They didn't hesitate much longer as people began flocking to the crash. They gathered what they could from agent Winter's car,which only had a few extra guns,and then slipped into the alley;going unseen by anyone from the gathering crowd.

* * *

><p>The group of agents found a seedy looking hotel several blocks away from the crash;it wasn't a very nice looking place,but no one asked any questions and that was what they wanted at the moment.<p>

Amelia tried several times to talk with Ivan,but each time she was stonewalled. The Russian refused to speak to her,and wouldn't even acknowledge the American's presence. This frustrated Amelia to no end,but after the last failed attempt to talk she gave up and stormed off to another part of the shabby hotel.

"I don't get it,Maddie! I showed him how I feel,and now the big idiot won't even look at me!" Amelia vented,huffing around the small room the two were sharing. She had been pacing the ugly brown shag carpeting in the room for a solid hour now,and she showed no signs of letting up.

"Well,you _did_ run out on him before you kissed him,eh...That doesn't exactly give off a "Take me,I'm yours" vibe,Melie. You probably hurt him,not to mention giving him mixed signals," Madeline said,breaking into her sister's longwinded rant.

"Yeah...but I made up for that,right? I mean,that's kinda what the whole kissing thing was for!" Amelia sighed in frustration,finally stopping in her pacing to plop on the bed next to her twin. "Maddie,I _know_ I fucked up on this...But what I _don't_ know is how to fix it," she mumbled,glancing at her sister.

Madeline sighed,hugging her stuffed polar bear closer to herself. "Does _he_ know that you screwed up? Amelia,have you even tried talking to him about this?" she asked,holding up a finger to silence the other blond when she opened her mouth to say something,"And I don't mean after the kiss,Melie. How do you know that he feels the same way,or if he's even aware of what he's feeling if he does?"

Amelia lapsed into silence,her gaze shifting to the floor. "No,I didn't do that...Maddie,you know how I am about romance and all that other girly crap! I suck at it! I used to give out Spiderman valentines cards that said "You rule!" on all of them! I'm not good at the touchy feely stuff...It makes me feel itchy," she grumbled,letting herself fall backwards onto the mattress.

"Well,if you really need advice on that stuff,you should have a talk with Francis," Madeline suggested,her tone one of light teasing.

"Oh,God,no! I'd rather try talkin' to Iggy about how "American" beats "English" as a language...Which doesn't ever end well,let me tell you!" Amelia said,smiling a little.

"That's because "American" isn't a language,eh!" Madeline laughed,shaking her head. "But,seriously,Melie,_talk_ to him. You should give him a little space right now,though...I think he almost made that guy at the check-in desk wet his pants with the intense atmosphere around him,but he'll cool off eventually,eh," she suggested,giggling slightly as she recalled the man's terrified expression as he was faced with both agent Russia and agent Winter.

"I guess so...," Amelia murmured,staring at the cracked ceiling as if to glean some important information from it. Sighing when the cracks refused to give her any insight,she kicked off her shoes and started to get ready to go to sleep for what remained of the night.

* * *

><p>"Are you sure you're feeling alright? That <em>is<em> quite a nasty bump," Katyusha fussed,cleaning the wound on agent France's head with a wet hand towel from the bathroom.

"I assure you,mon amour,that it doesn't hurt very much...especially right now," Francis purred.

Katyusha giggled nervously,pulling her hand away to fidget with a button on her shirt as she turned from the Frenchman.

Francis frowned,his index finger tapping at his jaw in thought. _Why does she react like that? Most women are absolutely taken away by my gorgeous good looks and charm...but she isn't! I must know why!_ he resolved in his head,determined to answer this perplexing question. "I apologize if this is rude to ask,but why do you shy away from my advances?" he asked,a curious look in his eyes.

Katyusha made a sudden squeaking noise,dropping the towel in surprise. "I-I w-well...It's not your fault at all! It's just me! I only assumed you were teasing me...I-I mean,I'm not very pretty...," she stammered out,quickly bending over to pick up the fallen towel.

"But you _are_,mon cher! How can one as beautiful as yourself not see it?" Francis pressed on,now a bit confused at the woman's answer.

Katyusha's face erupted into a bright red,and she stuttered something out in a quiet voice. _Oh...this is so embarrassing! Why am I such a clutz with these sorts of things?_

"Katyusha?"

"Ah! Yes?" she exclaimed,brought out of her thoughts by Francis placing a hand on her arm.

"_I _think you are the most beautiful woman I've ever met,and not just on the outside but on the inside as well. You put others before yourself,even if by doing so you hurt yourself. You are caring and kind. You are such an amazing person,yet you don't see yourself as such! That is something I admire," Francis said,smiling warmly at her. _She is so different from the other women I've flirted and played around with...She is...sincere._

Katyusha's face turned a darker shade of red,but she had a small smile on her lips. "T-Thank you,Francis...," she murmured out,turning to face the Frenchman. "Would you...like to go to bed?" she asked,a sparkle in her baby blue eyes.

Francis' lips parted slightly in surprise,but he soon broke out into a happy grin. "Of course I would,mon amour. I would do anything you asked me to," he replied,letting himself get tugged along by the woman that had so captured his attention and heart.

* * *

><p>Ivan growled under his breath,pacing around in the small bathroom in confused frustration,though it was more like spinning around in tight circles. <em>Why did she <em>_**do**__ that? I tried to breach the subject before and she refused to speak about it! Now she does...__**that**__...and she expects me to just go along with it? _

"Would you get out of there already? We need to discuss a plan of action _before_ the sun rises on the next millenium...Since when did you become so caught up on pretty women that you could no longer do your job...or take a piss for that matter," agent Winter said in a gruff tone,pounding on the creaky bathroom door.

Ivan could feel his blood boil at the comment,and he had to resist the urge to punch through the door,or one of the walls,to satisfy his need to destroy something. Breaking things had been one of the ways he'd learned to cope with missions,and he enjoyed the sound of glass shattering or wood groaning and breaking;the sound of flesh tearing,bones cracking,and blood dripping.

He stopped his fevered pacing and leaned up against the wall. He allowed his body to slip down the smooth surface until he hit the floor,his head buried in his hands.

_"Oh? You need me to help you practice something?" a boy with shoulder length brown hair asked,a friendly smile on his face._

_"Da," Ivan replied,a fake grin plastered onto his face in return of the other boy's gesture._

_"Sure,I can help you. What is it that you're practicing?" the other boy asked,tilting his head slightly in question._

_"Something fun," Ivan answered in a cheerful voice,bringing out a dagger from behind his back._

_"W-What's that for?" the brunet asked nervously,edging away from the Russian._

_"It's for our game,da? I'll cut you and see if you scream. If you don't scream,you win! But if you __**do **__scream,then I cut you again. It's very simple,and it's good practice," Ivan explained,advancing on the other child._

_"P-Practice for what?" the other boy stammered,backing up into a wall with a gasp._

_"Torture," Ivan replied simply,fingering the dagger's blade with mild interest._

_The boy let out a whimper and turned to run,but he was tugged back forcefully by Ivan._

_"Nyet,we're not playing Hide and Seek! But we can do that after my game,if you want," the Russian said in a low tone,keeping a firm grip on the brunet as he brought the dagger closer to the boy's back._

_The other boy screamed in terrified pain as he felt cold metal bite into his flesh,and he thrashed like a hooked fish in the Russian boy's grip. Ivan didn't like the other boy jostling around so much,so he pushed the brunet to the floor and sat on his legs;making sure that he couldn't get up._

_"Looks like you lost the first round,Toris! But I'll give you a do-over since this is the first time you've played this game. Now,remember,__**don't **__scream," Ivan drawled out,placing the tip of the blade near the brunet's right shoulderblade._

_The boy,Toris,bit into his bottom lip until he drew blood,but he couldn't hold back his outcry of pain when the dagger tasted his blood yet again. Tears were freely running down his face as he cried out for someone to help him,his arms pounding on the floor in a futile attempt to cope with the torture. He tried kicking his legs out,but they were securely held down by Ivan's body weight._

_"Aw,Toris lost again!"_

Ivan inhaled sharply,his eyes snapping open at the memory. He let out a tired breath,rubbing at his neck as he stood up. He shakily turned the water on in the sink,splashing cold water onto his face as he tried to rid himself of the memory. _Just push it back...Drop it,let it fade..._,he chanted to himself mentally,bracing his hands against the rim of the slightly grimy sink. He took in several deep breaths,keeping up the mantra in his mind,until he felt that he was in control of himself again.

"Get out! I'm sick of waiting for you,boy!" agent Winter hollered,resuming his pounding on the door.

Ivan swung the door open testily,a cold glare set on his face. "I'm out...Happy?" he snarled,bristling like an angered cat.

Nikolai merely grunted,matching Ivan's glare with a fierce scowl. "No,I'm not. How coud I be when you let yourself get taken in so damned easily by that stupid _girl_," the older man sneered.

Amethyst eyes narrowed,"Don't talk about her...You don't know anything about her!"

"And you do?" agent Winter chuckled mirthlessly. "You've been around her for maybe a month,and just tonight did you learn her _real _name. That's not exactly what I would call a solid relationship with a person."

"How would you know _anything_ about having a relationship with someone? You've been alone your entire life!" Ivan retorted,his glare darkening.

"I know a dead end when I see one,boy,and that's the only thing you'll get from trying to cozy up to that American fool," Nikolai snapped,his eyes icy. He had a brief flash in his mind of Anfisa,her bright smile turned toward him.

"You know _nothing_...," Ivan repeated defiantly,his voice low and menacing.

"Hmph,well,I'd like to see you try and prove me wrong," Nikolai rumbled,a glint in his eyes.

Ivan said nothing in return,but the look he gave agent Winter was enough to show what the older man wanted to see.

_He's so much like his mother,always wanting to prove me wrong in any way possible. He probably hasn't even noticed what I just did there,but then he was never very good with reverse psychology before why should he be now? They'll figure out how to make it work,_agent Winter thought in amusement,shaking his head.

"So,are you ready to hear my plan?" the older man asked,a sly smirk on his haggard face.

Ivan scowled at him,feeling like he had somehow just been played.

* * *

><p>"Aiyah...I am getting much too old for all this nonsense,aru," Yao sighed wearily,cracking his back.<p>

"I must ask this,if it is not rude for me to pry...But why _are_ you doing this? You share no familiarity with agent Winter or the other agents here,not really. So,please explain it to me,brother," Kiku asked in that soft voice of his,like he was in a sacred temple at all times;not wanting to break the tranquility by speaking too loudly.

The Chinese man glanced over at his younger brother,leaning back slightly with his arms extended backwards to keep his balance. "I have two main reasons,though there are many more I could name if I so chose to think of them," he replied,pausing to gather his thoughts into a full answer.

Agent Japan waited patiently,his unrevealing gaze not wavering from the other man.

"I was one of the agents casted to help train agent Russia when he first came to The Foundation. I was in charge of teaching him hand-to-hand combat,as well as some mental deceptions to use while in close-range fighting. I felt sorry for the boy when I first met him;he was afraid of his own shadow,being so young at the time,aru. Having to go through the process of turning that sweet little child into a killer was the straw that broke the camel's back for me. But I had been doubting The Foundation for many years previous," Yao said,turning his head to gaze at the ceiling like it was a star-filled sky and not a water damaged piece of architecture.

"And...your doubts from before?" Kiku inquired,keeping his posture straight and stiff.

Agent China lapsed into silence,his honey brown eyes drifting shut.

_"So,you are the one I have been told of...I'm very impressed with your work,Yao Wang," an older man praised in a deceptively sweet tone,his hands clasped behind his back as he walked stiffly over to the Chinese man._

_"And who told you about myself,yín tóufǎ*? I don't keep very loose-lipped company,aru...," the younger man muttered out,cleaning blood from the curved dagger in his hand nonchalantly._

_"Oh,I know how to make people talk,my friend. Every person has a boundary that they aren't willing to cross,a wall they hit and can't break through...One just needs to know how to find that particular sweetspot,and then they can easily get what they want from even the most stalwart of beings," the man chuckled,his eyes dancing darkly._

_Yao's eyes narrowed dangerously as he shifted his gaze from the weapon in his hand to the man standing before him in the darkness of a Beijing alley. "Why are you here,aru?" he demanded,keeping his dagger at the ready._

_"Why,with a business interest in mind,of course! I wouldn't come here in person if it were otherwise,I assure you...," the man replied in a mirthful tone,his teeth flashing white in the saturnine space of the alley. "You are quite the sought after employee,and I must admit to some frustration on trying to...convince your current contracter to let you go. Which is why I came to you personally, . I have something that I believe will tip the scales in my favor," he continued,his smile widening._

_"And what could that be,aru? I do not want for better payment," Yao scoffed,his muscles tense with the nervous energy that ran through his veins. There was something about this man that set him on edge more than the others that slummed around in the black markets of the underworld._

_"You do not work for the luxuries that many of your brothers-in-arms do,wasting your earnings on women,drink,or other such trivialities...No,you do such terrible work in the hopes of one day leaving this life behind and finding a better,more honest way of living in America...with your younger siblings," the man said in a low voice,his tone turning venomous._

_Yao's eyes widened in surprise,his lips parting slightly in disbelief. "How...?" he choked out,unable to comprehend how this man knew about his younger siblings._

_"That is of little importance,but just know that my informant shall never speak of it to anyone else. In fact,he can't speak of anything much anymore," the older man replied,shrugging. "What does matter,though,is if you accept my offer..."_

_"What is it?" Yao hissed out,watching the man carefully._

_"You work for me in America,and your siblings will live. You shall not want for anything,and neither will they,so long as you stay loyal to me. You can give them the life that your parents could not...Do you accept my offer?" the man asked,his sweet tone back. _

_The younger man closed his eyes,his jaw clenched tightly in an unwanted defeat. "You are giving me no choice,aru...," he murmured,returning his weapon to its sheath on the inside of his coat. "I accept...for them..."_

"Yao?" Kiku called,breaking through the other's reverie;a slightly concerned tone in his usually unemotional voice.

"Ah,sorry. My mind carried me away,Kiku...," Yao apologized,sitting up straighter as he opened his eyes. "My other reason...my _ultimate_ reason...was always to put family first,aru. You,as well as your brother and sister,you all were always my main priority. What I did not learn until later,about my agreement with the Commissioner to insure your safety,was that you would also be enrolled into The Foundation's training program. It was a backhanded way to get me to agree,but I had no choice...He agreed to not send any of you out on serious missions,and he would keep his word for as long as I kept mine,aru," he continued,finally answering his brother.

"I see...," Kiku murmured,keeping his thoughts on the matter to himself.

* * *

><p>"Ve...This place isn't very clean...You'd think they would put a little more care into cleaning the beds at least! That's where people take their siestas!" agent Italy cried,brushing loose dirt out of his bed dismally.<p>

"Piss off,would you? We'll only be here for a few more hours,at the very most...It's almost dawn anyway," Arthur grumbled,typing away at the laptop he had been given.

"You're really grumpy,you know that? But not in the same way as Ludwig,he's usually yelling at me right about now," Feliciano chirped,a funny little smile on his face. He hopped into the slightly cleaner bed,removing all of his clothes under the scratchy covers. "Ah,now I can finally relax!" he sighed,settling down to go to sleep.

"Yes,yes...you do that...," Arthur muttered,glancing at the other agent briefly. "Good God,man! Are you bloody naked?" he exclaimed,eyeing the discarded pile of clothes near the Italian's bed.

"Si! It's the only way I can sleep," Feliciano replied cheerfully,smiling in sweet ignorance of the Brit's sudden discomfort.

"Dear lord...At least he waited until he was _under_ the covers to do that,I suppose," Arthur mumbled to himself,quickly shifting his eyes back to computer screen.

It wasn't too long after that when Arthur started to hear a growing noise,somewhat like an oncoming train. He glanced around the room for a while,trying to figure out where it was coming from. It took several seconds to find the source.

"Well...that's bloomin' brilliant,now isn't it...He snores," Arthur growled to himself,once again trying to refocus his attention on the computer.

He was almost starting to tune out the loud,motor-like sound of agent Iatly's constant snoring when another sound invaded his eardrums. It was coming from the room next to his,and though he couldn't hear what was being said all of the time,many of the phrases were distinctly _French_.

"Are you _bloody_ kidding me?" he hollered,somehow not disturbing neither the snoozing Italian nor the...otherwise engaged Frenchman.

It was going to be a long night for Arthur...

* * *

><p>Ludwig silently thought over everything that had happened in just the last twenty-four hours,contemplating how to proceed. On one hand,he was considered a hostage by these rogue agents. But,on another,The Foundation didn't really seem intent on helping them out of their situation,if nearly getting blown up by agent Mongolia was anything to go by.<p>

He sighed,sweeping a hand over his smoothed down hair. He didn't really agree with the rogue agents' reasons for attacking The Foundation,but it may be in his best interest to go along with it for the moment. If they were sneaking back into headquarters,then he could get away from them eventually and get back-up to help him take them down.

Ludwig flexed his fingers,his sharp blue eyes watching the movement of muscle beneath the skin in mild interest. _But...do I really want to do that? These agents have a purpose for their actions...I have never had such a thing...If everything that The Foundation has told us is a lie,then we have commited such acts of horror against innocent people..._He didn't care to finish that morbid train of thought,and so moved back to the problem of what to do about his current situation.

The German looked up from his hands as the door to the room he was sharing with agent Russia opened;it having been locked so he couldn't get away. He noticed the pensive expression on the other man's face,and decided it was best not to try and engage in any form of conversation. Not that he really wanted to do so,but it may have helped him figure out what to do if it should come to taking sides. If he was going to join up with these people,he wanted to undestand their reasons for doing this.

_For the first time in my life,I have absolutely no idea about what my actions should be...Do I just go along with what I've known for most of my life,even if it may be wrong,or do I take a chance...They often say that the right thing to do is not the easiest thing to do...I just don't know_,Ludwig thought,going back and forth in his head.

He wasn't the sort of person to move out of his comfort zone once he had established it. His life was based around routines and rules;this predicament compromised those things. Did he choose to remain loyal,as he had been taught,or did he choose the path that was unclear but might lead to a better future for so many people?

Ludwig clenched his hands into fists,cursing his procrastination on such an important desicion. He would need to speak with agent Italy and Japan before making any sort of choice. After all,they were an important factor in whether or not he went one way or another.

* * *

><p>S'il te plaît: Please <strong>in French<strong>

_yín tóufǎ_: Silver hair **in Chinese**


	26. The Breath Before the Plunge

Francis and Katyusha giggled amongst themselves as they made their way into the rather shabby, small hotel lobby. Both wore somewhat big and goofy smiles on their faces. Agent China and Japan were quietly speaking to one another in a corner of the room, both looking serious. Feliciano was chattering on to Ludwig, who looked about ready to have a stroke out of sheer frustration by the way a vein in his forehead was pulsing, the Italian's voice holding its usual happy tone.

Arthur trudged doggedly into the lobby, his eyes bloodshot and his shaggy hair more disheveled than it normally looked. He snarled at agent Italy when the Italian man offered a cheery good morning, scaring the rusty brunet into hiding behind agent Germany. His tired green eyes soon locked onto agent France, his anger quickly finding a new target to rage upon. "You!" he spat, a near crazed look in his eyes.

Francis blinked, bringing his gaze up from Katyusha as he heard the more than disgruntled voice of agent England. "Ah, did you say something, Arthur?" he called in a teasing tone, shifting his attention back to the woman beside him.

Arthur's upper lip twitched as his entire body shook with rage, his face turing a dark shade of red as air puffed out of his flared nostrils like a taunted bull. "I...didn't...get...a _bloody_...lick of...sleep...and it's all...your...fault! You just had to go and bang her, didn't you? Couldn't help yourself, could you? No offense to you, lass, though I don't bloody understand _why_ you went along with it!" he yelled, directing most of his anger at Francis and not Katyusha.

Francis went rigid, his blue eyes widening in horror at something _behind_ the still ranting agent England. Katyusha looked positively mortified, hiding her face in her hands. "Oh, dear...," she mumbled, peeking out behind her hands for a brief moment.

Arthur, thinking their reactions were because of him, finally let up in his ranting, looking quite pleased with himself. "That's right, you'd better be shaking in your stupid designer boots, you slimey frog! Ha, you'll know better now...now...that I've set you...straight...," he suddenly petered out, feeling a shadow pass over him. He gulped, slowly turning around.

Agent Winter stood behind him like some sort of tangible plague, the expression on his face absolutely horrifying to look at.

Arthur choked on his words, sputtering like a cat with a hairball.

"You did..._what_, agent France?" Nikolai hissed out, his eyes flashing with a cold outrage.

"I...I-I, well...You see...I-I-I...," Francis stammered like a fool, tripping over his usually eloquent speech like a newborn foal over its legs. He started to tremble slightly, as if agent Winter was producing a freezing blizzard from his cold stare, and continued to stammer out nonesense.

"Niki, stop that! I chose to do this, I was even the one to _initiate_ it, so don't torture poor Francis! It was all my idea to have sex!" Katyusha stated defiantly, standing up to the older man.

There was the sudden sound of someone spitting liquid from their mouth, out of shock, as Ivan came into the room just in time to hear the last bit of his older sister's declaration; a styrofoam cup of some sort of hot beverage almost slipping from his hand. "You what? With who?" he choked out, his shock swiftly changing into anger. "You took advantage of my sister?" he growled menacingly at Francis, crushing the flimsy cup in his hand as he stalked over to agent France, not even registering the burn of hot liquid as it spilled onto his tightly clenched fist.

"I swear that I did not take advantage of her! It was all an act of love, nothing sinister!" Francis blurted out, his voice returning to him as he stood his ground, trying to keep his legs from shaking as the Russian advanced on him.

"Oh, Vanya, don't hurt him! He didn't take advantage of me!" Katyusha cried, stepping in front of her enraged younger brother. She attempted to halt his progress by pushing against him, her hands on his chest, but that didn't work as his strength overpowered hers. "Don't do anything to him, please...I love him," she pleaded, still futilely pushing against Ivan as tears formed in her eyes and fell to the floor.

Ivan stopped abruptly and glanced down at his sister. "You love...him?" he repeated slowly, his gaze shifting between Katyusha and Francis. "You barely know him...How can you be so sure?" he asked, struggling to understand her certainty. He had known Amelia longer than his sister had known agent France, so why was it so hard for him to understand the same feelings? It was starting to frustrate him, and he hated it. Why couldn't he just _tell_ her his feelings? He knew what he felt, or at least he thought he knew, but whenever he thought about actually telling Amelia, his brain seemed to short-curcuit and he couldn't think of how to put any of it into words.

Katyusha nodded furiously, "Yes, yes, I do...I love him, I can feel it in my heart."

Agent Winter closed his eyes, inhaling through his nose. "I will speak to you about this later, Katyusha...," he said, his voice cold and hard with disapproval. His icy eyes snapped open to glare at agent France a final time before he silently walked out of the room, his bony hands clenched tightly into shaking fists at his sides.

Arthur slowly backed away from the scene, suddenly very interested in a cheap magazine that lay slightly crumpled on one of the low tables in the lobby. _Well...that was absolutely terrifying..._, he thought to himself, his hand shaking as he flipped through the faded pages.

Ivan let out a growling sigh, running a hand distractedly through his short hair. He shifted his intense gaze to Francis once more, slinging an arm around the Frenchman's slender shoulders as he leaned down to speak in his ear. "If you do _anything_, even the most insignificant thing, to make her unhappy or hurt her in any way, I will castrate you with a rusty knife and tie you up in a basement until you _bleed to death_ from it...You understand, da?" he warned in a dark tone, his hand gripping Francis's shoulder with a crushing force.

Agent France, to his credit, stood his ground with a straight face and didn't try to run, though there was still a slight tremor running through his body. "Oui, Jean, I understand completely. I intend to treat her with as much care as I would give to the most precious of things in this world, for that is what she is to me," he replied, smiling at Katyusha warmly.

Ivan seemed to accept the blond's answer for the moment, and released him. Now refocusing his thoughts on something else, he glanced around the lobby for a certain spunky American. Seeing that Amelia wasn't in the room he asked, "Do you know if Amelia is still in her room? I need to...speak with her."

Francis relaxed once he felt that he was no longer in mortal danger from agent Russia, and he allowed a sly smirk onto his fair face. "Ohon, I do believe she is still in her room! I think I know what you're going to do, mon ami! Seeing our love," he gestured to himself and Katyusha as he pulled the busty woman close to his side once again, "has made you want to confess your own to Amelia and woo her, non?" he asked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively as he laughed his French laugh.

Ivan growled at Francis before turning on his heel and leaving the lobby, deciding to not even grace the Frenchman's inquiry with a sarcastic answer or another threat.

* * *

><p>Amelia flipped over in the bed restlessly, letting out an unneccessarily loud groan as she woke up. Sitting up into a slightly slumped position, she groped around for her glasses blearily.<p>

"Finally awake, eh? We should probably get our stuff and head out to the lobby, Melie...The others are already out there, I think," Madeline said, stepping out of the cramped bathroom. "If you want to change out of those clothes, you can use some of mine, eh. We're pretty much the same size."

Amelia groaned again, kicking the covers off of her body in a mock tantrum sort of way. "But I'm still tired!" she whined, pouting at her twin.

Madeline gave her an unimpressed look, and tossed her bag of clothes over to the sandy blond. "Get dressed and be out there in five minutes, eh. Or I'll send agent France in here to get you," she threatened, heading out the door to see if she could scrounge for breakfast.

Amelia stuck her tongue out at the closed door, digging through the bag of clothes. After finding some things she didn't mind wearing too much, she started to change. She got the plain white shirt on just fine, it actually fit quite nicely, but the jeans were putting up more of a fight. "Grrr, why won't you just get on, you stupid pants? Damn Maddie and her freakishly narrow hips!" she huffed, hopping about the room as she tried to pull the slightly faded jeans on.

Tony crawled out from under the bed, where he had slept the whole night, shaking to rid his fur of stray bits of dust and fluff. He trotted over to the door, scratching against the wood as a sign he wanted to go out. He looked back at Amelia, and, seeing that he hadn't gained her attention, repeated the action and added a short bark.

"Not right now, buddy...I'm...busy!" Amelia grumbled, tugging on the pants furiously. "For crying out loud! The hero will _not, _I repeat, _not_, be beaten by a pair of skinny jeans!" the American exclaimed, twisting her body slightly as she attempted to pull the pants up again.

The pug dog gave her an unamused look, snorting as he turned back to the door. His ears perked up when he heard heavy footsteps approaching the room, his head tilting curiously. He shuffled backwards awkwardly as the door was opened, rushing past the person's feet when there was enough room.

Ivan cursed the little dog quite colorfully in Russian as the animal ran past him and out into the hall, wondering why he had saved the wretched little creature from the van flip-over.

Amelia gasped in surprise as she heard the door open and angry Russian was muttered from behind her. She spun around to see who had invaded her privacy, all set to give whoever it was an earful. Unfortunately, with her legs not completely in the legs of the jeans, her sudden movement caused her to lose her balance, and she fell gracelessly to the floor with the pants halfway on. "Ivan? What the hell?" she demanded, her face red with embarrassment when she saw who had entered the room.

Ivan blinked, and then he blinked again. This was not what he had been expecting. At all. "Uh...," was all that came out of his mouth as he tried to pry his eyes from Amelia's partially clothed body. _Well...that was clever..._, he mentally berated himself, unsure of what to do in this situation.

"Don't just stand there drooling! Turn around or close your eyes, commie!" Amelia ordered shrilly, her face uncomfortably hot as the Russian continued to stare at her.

Ivan complied with her demands, doing both things as well as placing a hand over his closed eyes. He nearly smacked into the open door with how fast he turned around, his cheeks going a vivid pink. "I wasn't drooling...," he said in an indignant tone, his free hand bumping against his thigh as he waited for the American to finish getting dressed.

"God, ever hear of _knocking_? Who the hell just barges into someone else's room?" Amelia huffed, finally managing to wriggle into the jeans.

Ivan remained silent, mentally cursing his incredible stupidity. _An absolute idiot_, he answered in his head. _Ever hear of getting a bigger pair of pants and changing in the __**bathroom**__ when in an unfamiliar place, not to mention leaving the door unlocked...At least I'm not the only idiot in this situation..._, he added in his head as he thought about the American's compromising situation more.

Amelia got to her feet, pulling her bomber jacket on, as a plan of revenge quickly formed in her mind. She snuck over to the Russian, smirking when he didn't react to her and still had his eyes closed. "Hey, Red, are you a boxers or briefs sort of guy?" she asked deviously, carefully manuvering her hands near the Russian's pants, her fingers just inches from the button and zipper.

"What sort of question is tha-" Ivan was abruptly disrupted in his question by Amelia undoing the button of his pants and tugging them down. He let out an undignified and surprised yelp, his hands fumbling to catch the waist of his pants before they fell too far down, the sudden movement causing him to knock into the slightly ajar door.

Amelia laughed out loud, slapping a hand against her leg. "Wow, that was hilarious! You smacked right into the door!" she guffawed, a little breathless from laughing so hard.

"W-Why did you do that?" Ivan demanded in a flustered tone, still confused and slightly embarrassed now. _And I was going apologize to her why?_ he wondered, pulling his pants back up as quickly as he could.

"It's called vengance, Ruski, and damn, is it _sweet_!" Amelia crowed, still laughing uproariously. "Nice boxers, by the way. They totally match your face right now," she added, smirking as his face turned a deeper shade of red than it already was.

"But I didn't do that on purpose! I was - Well...I was - You - You were...and then - I really didn't know...," Ivan blurted out, slapping a hand to his forehead at how ridiculous he sounded; spluttering like an idiot, he seemed to be getting very good at that recently.

Amelia blinked, unused to seeing the Russian so out of sorts and downright _flighty_. "Whoa there, big guy...Sit down before you hurt yourself," she joked, trying to lighten the weird mood that had descended on them. "Why'd you really come here, Ivan?" she asked, fidgeting slightly.

Ivan nearly choked on his breath, remembering why he had come in the first place. He took a deep breath, trying to gather his incredibly scattered thoughts. "When you...kissed me, after the crash, I didn't know how to react...And with so many people around...I just...I don't know," he murmured, not looking at the blond American as he spoke.

Amelia was taken aback, not expecting this one bit. "I know, I kinda sprung that on you out of nowhere, but I thought you might have gotten hurt, and that sort of freaked me out a bit...And I felt like a total bitch for running out on you before, when you tried to talk about this," she said, gesturing between them.

"I don't know what I'm doing...I have no idea how to handle this," Ivan groaned, running a hand through his hair as his eyes darted back and forth.

"Well, I'm pretty new to this whole thing, too. But, I'm willing to figure it out...if you are," Amelia said in a soft tone, remembering what agent Winter had said to her. _We can figure it out...Yeah, we can do this_, she thought, gaining more confidence.

"Of course I want to...," Ivan replied in an almost inaudible voice, his purple eyes flickering up to Amelia's face.

Amelia felt a smile break out onto her face at that, and she felt all warm and bubbly inside - not even caring how cliche that description was. "Awesome," she breathed, not knowing what else to say.

Ivan chuckled, feeling the nervous energy that had been pent up in him slowly dissipate. "Da, but I think I owe you something," he murmured, moving closer to the American.

Amelia gave him a confused expression, her heart skipping in her chest when their lips suddenly met. Her blue eyes closed as she felt his hands at the side of her face, thumbs gently moving against her cheekbones, and she eagerly returned the kiss. She brought her hands up to his neck, feeling the raised skin of the scars there before moving on to mess her fingers into his beige hair, surprised by how soft it felt. The two finally broke apart, panting for air, their breath mingling.

"Wow, I would've pantsed you after the van exploded if I'd known I would've gotten this sort of reaction," Amelia laughed breathlessly, going in for another kiss.

Ivan frowned slightly against her lips at the mention of that, but he chose to ignore it for the most part, opting to bring his hands down to Amelia's sides to busy his buzzing mind.

Amelia took in a breath through her nose, pulling away slightly in confusion. "Why do you smell like coffee?" she asked, smelling the caffinated drink on the Russian once again as he leaned in to kiss down her jaw, trailing down to her neck.

Ivan made a low rumbling noise in his chest, which traveled through Amelia in faint vibrations, as he nipped slightly at the blond's neck, causing her breath to hitch in a pleasant way. "I tried to kill agent France...," he murmured against Amelia's skin, seeing it as a completely valid explanation at the moment.

"Right, that makes sense," Amelia replied, no longer caring as she ran her hands down Ivan's chest, capturing his lips once again as she pulled him over to the bed.

* * *

><p>Agent Mongolia hissed in discomfort as he slipped into the cheap hotel through an open window, his wounds blaring their existence to him with throbbing pain. After surveying the room he was in, with a quick sweep of his black eyes, he crept over to the door, opening it just enough to check the hallway. Seeing that the hall was clear of anyone, Nergui snuck out of the empty room, a dark grin on his face. <em>I no longer care for bringing agent Russia back to the Commissioner...Once I kill agent Winter, I will strike down his son as well. If I will meet my death today, then they will join me.<em>

"Then, once I've finally erased everything of that man...we may finally be together, my dear one...I will be able to _touch _you once more," he murmured to the air, his hand moving to caress the nothingness next to him with a twisted form of love on his tanned face.

He slipped out into the empty hall, moving with a sort of cautious recklessness. While he had no fears of dying, he would not stand to be killed by one of the other rogue agents before his goal was achieved. As he turned down the hall, he heard footsteps coming from the opposite direction. Agent Mongolia quickly retreated behind the hall's turn, so that he was hidden from sight, his dagger ready in his gnarled grip.

"Wait, Niki! Please, I want to talk!"

"I told you...We would speak of this _later_."

Nergui felt a thrill of pleasure go up his spine as he recognized the voices. _Agent Winter..._Moving slickly back around the corner, he silently approached the two, his dagger hidden slightly behind his back. Neither had noticed him yet, both too occupied with their conversation. _I shall finally claim my right to be with you, Anfisa...With the spilling of his blood, we shall have nothing standing between us but death itself._

* * *

><p>"Mm, hold on a sec...," Amelia hummed out, halting their current actions. She leaned over the bed's edge precariously, searching underneath the creaky piece of furniture for something.<p>

"What is it?" Ivan inquired, confused as to why _this_ was suddenly more important than what they had been doing.

"I took this with me before we left Kat's place...I know it's not mine, but I didn't get to finish looking through it. Now seems like as good a time as any to take a second look at it...Since we probably won't get another chance to once we head out for The Foundation's headquarters," Amelia replied, her voice slightly muffled.

Ivan was intrigued by this, curious as to what it was that the American had taken with her from his sister's apartment. He shifted closer to where she was hanging over the bed, trying to see what it was.

Amelia glanced up, feeling the Russian's weight moving closer to her on the bed, and quickly hid whatever it was back in the bag that she had borrowed from Katyusha. "Hey, no peeking! It's sort of a surprise," she huffed, placing one hand to cover Ivan's eyes as she awkwardly reached back down into the bag.

Ivan frowned as his vision was blocked, but he made no further movements to get a look at whatever Amelia was going to show him. "Didn't you disqualify this as a surprise by telling me about it beforehand? Besides, I don't really care for surprises...," he muttered.

"But you'll like this one, I promise!" Amelia exclaimed confidently, finally righting herself on the bed. She ran the palm of her hand down the worn cover of the photo album, wiping off some dust. After swiping off some more stray dust and cobwebs, she removed her hand from Ivan's face, offering the old book to him with an excited expression.

Ivan blinked as light flooded his vision once more, glancing down in confusion at the somewhat ratty old book Amelia held out to him. "And this is...what, exactly?" he asked, turning the book over in his hands slowly.

Amelia rolled her eyes. "It ain't a bomb, big guy! Geez, with the way you're handling it, you'd think it was goin' to bite your nose off!" she laughed, shaking her head slightly. "It's a photo album! Y'know, something you put pictures in?" she clarified, opening it to the first page of old pictures.

Ivan went quiet, glazed over amethyst eyes wandering over the plastic covered faces and scenes. "These are...," he trailed off, slowly tracing a finger over hauntingly familiar features and places.

"Of you and your family...before The Foundation came in and took you away," Amelia finished, scooting closer to the Russian so that she could get a better look at the pictures.

"I...didn't even know these many pictures had been taken back then...," Ivan murmured, flipping through some more of the pages.

"Yeah, it's pretty nice, huh? You were so cute back then! I wonder what happened...," Amelia teased, ignoring the look that was sent her way at the comment. "You were a fat toddler," she added, giggling a little.

"_All _toddlers are fat!" Ivan huffed in an unamused tone, trying to ignore the spurts of laughter coming from the blonde woman.

"_I _wasn't! 'Sides, you kept your puppy fluff, big guy," Amelia continued in a teasing fashion, poking him in the side repeatedly.

"I'm big-boned...," Ivan muttered crossly, wondering how his mood had been so easily flipped around. He had suddenly gone from quite pleased to slightly irritated in less then a minute, and it was all _Amelia's _fault.

Amelia couldn't help but laugh at that, slapping a hand over her mouth at the glare Ivan pinned on her. "What? It's kinda cute...and kinda funny," she said, shifting her twinkling blue eyes back to the photo album. "Hey, look, here's a picture of your little sister!" the blonde exclaimed, regaining the Russian's interest in the photos.

The picture that Amelia was ecstaticly pointing to seemed to be fairly recent, it lacked any fading or worn crinkles at the edges. A rather stern looking, stoney-faced, young woman was staring out from the picture - though it was more of a softened glare than any form of a smile. She was standing stoicly in front of what looked to be a college campus, several books and notes clutched tightly in her slender hands. Her clothes were rather plain, a simple gray skirt and navy blue sweater; a white bow tied into her long, dark biege hair. Her eyes were a darker shade of blue than her older sister's, but not the same purple as Ivan's, though they looked like they could come close if in the right light.

"Natasha...," Ivan said in a soft voice, studying the picture intently.

"Hm? What'd you say?" Amelia asked curiously, glancing up from looking over some other pictures.

"Natalia...Her name is Natalia. Natasha is just a nickname," Ivan sighed, rubbing at his face slowly. He needed to get more sleep, all of this was starting to give him a headache. His eyes shifted from the photo of his younger sister to an older picture on the next page, his lips parting slightly as he found familiar amethyst colored eyes. "матушка*..."

The face that he could never place, never recall, in his memories and dreams was suddenly right in front of him. He traced the features in the picture tentatively; long forgotten or discarded memories forcing their way back from the dark places of his mind, making his headache worse. The woman in the slightly faded picture - not just a _woman_, his _mother_ - shared many similiarities with her three children. She had the same biege hair that the siblings shared, though the shade of it was more like Katyusha's and the length resembled Natalia's. The shape of her face was closest to Natalia, but the expression she wore was more reminiscent of Ivan's when he was teasing or in a relatively good mood. She was a little bit taller than average and was quite evenly proportioned, though she did have the same large chest as her eldest daughter. Her eyes, of course, she shared with her son: amethyst colored.

"She was beautiful," Amelia commented, inching a bit closer to Ivan as she looked at the photo. She found the resemblence that they all shared amazing, Amelia herself didn't really look anything like her mother.

"Da...Beautiful...," Ivan breathed, his gaze no longer centered on the photograph of his deceased mother.

A horrified scream broke through the quiet reverie that had taken up space in the room, causing Amelia and Ivan to jolt out of the peaceful moment.

"What was that?" Amelia blurted out, getting to her feet and hurrying to the door.

"I don't know...," Ivan replied, abandoning the photo album on the bed as the two hustled out into the hall.

* * *

><p>матушка: Mother <strong>In Russian<strong>


	27. Winter's End

"Wait, Niki! Please, I want to talk!"

"I told you...We would speak of this _later_."

Katyusha sighed as she caught up to the older man, her eyes cast down to the floor as she gathered in her mind what exactly she wished to say. "I know that it wasn't the ideal way to find out about something like this, and I'm sure you're very upset with me, but I want you to know that it was out of love and _not _lust. Isn't that something to be happy about?" she asked in a soft voice, looking up into icy blue eyes.

Nikolai maintained his gruff expression, his body still tense. "I am most certainly _not_ pleased by your actions, Katya. You shouldn't even be here with us...I promised your mother that I would keep you and your siblings safe, and I will do so," he uttered in a strained voice, his temper still white hot with anger.

Katyusha resisted the urge to shrink back from agent Winter, trying to maintain the confidence that she had only moments before. "What about my brother?" she murmured, knowing she was now treading on dangerous ground.

"What about your brother?!" Nikolai demanded, his eyes narrowing.

"You didn't keep Vanya safe!" Katyusha blurted out, tears beading at the edges of her eyes. "You promised to keep us safe, Niki, and that includes Vanya! Why didn't you do more to help him? And now that he is back, why do you treat him so harshly?" she hiccupped, her expression pleading. "Niki, you were the father that Natalia and I never knew or had to raise us properly. You have done more for us than I'm sure we even know about, but why was it not the same for Vanya? I know how you really are...If you had children of your own, they would be blessed to have a father such as you...You have shown us that over the many years you've looked after us, so why?"

"Do not speak of your brother like he is still some helpless child, because he will _never_ be that little boy again. No matter how you may wish things were different, it won't change a thing," agent Winter spat.

"You are avoiding my question, Niki..._Why_?" Katyusha pressed, determined to find out why her brother had to suffer so much in his life.

"Because I _failed_ him, that's why!" Nikolai hissed, his icy eyes hard with self-loathing. "I couldn't protect him, and now look where he is! You were wrong when you said any child of mine would be blessed to have me as a father. A father does not do what I have done to his son and still consider himself worthy of the title, Katyusha..."

Katyusha felt her mouth go dry at the older man's confession, her eyes widening in delayed shock. "Y-You...All this time?" she choked out, utterly confused as to why he had never spoken of this before.

Nikolai did not answer, glancing away from Katyusha as she processed the information. His eyes narrowed slightly as he heard a creak come from in back of him, like someone stepping on a loose floorboard. As he turned around to see what had caused the noise, a sharp pain in his side caught him by surprise, eliciting a short grunt from the older man.

"Hm, slowing down in your old age, Zima?" a slick voice sneered right next to agent Winter's ear, a hand twisting the serated dagger further into Nikolai's side.

Nikolai's jaw moved up and down silently, Katyusha's horrified scream ringing in his ears. As his vision darkened and he felt himself fall to the ground, he silently begged for Anfisa's forgiveness.

* * *

><p>"Guess they don't serve any sort of breakfast here, eh...They didn't even have any maple syrup to put in my coffee!" Madeline wondered in disappointment, pouting into her styrofoam cup of gritty coffee. She glanced around the lobby for her sister, hoping that her twin was already out and that she wouldn't have to go back to their room to drag her out. The strawberry blonde sighed when she couldn't find Amelia, hanging her head in tired frustration. "Why can't she ever do what she's told...And be on time, as well! We'll be leaving soon, eh!"<p>

"If I know Amelia, then she's just gone back to sleep," Arthur huffed irritably from where he sat, leafing through an outdated magazine on caring for motorcycles.

"O-Oh, good morning, Arthur!" Madeline squeaked, a light blush tinging her cheeks. "Actually...Amelia's a real morning person, always bright-eyed and bushy-tailed by at least six-fifteen. I think she's just a bit stressed out, eh."

"Hm, well, I don't think we'll be leaving for a while yet, so there's no need to have her out here right at the moment. We just had a bit of a drama out here, and I believe it's set us back a bit," the Brit said, his thick eyebrows knitted together in obvious annoyance.

"What happened?" Madeline asked in genuine curiousity, sliding down into the understuffed chair next to the messy blonde. _At least it wasn't anything caused by Amelia..._

"Nothing too important...Just that perverted frog being a blighter again," Arthur stated blandly, his thumb and forefinger crinkling the corner of a page before he turned it. "All in all, it's nothing new or out of the ordinary."

"Well, at least it wasn't anything bad, eh," Madeline said in a light tone, a small smile creeping onto her face.

"Yes...I suppose...," Arthur muttered, glaring at the Frenchman from across the room.

Silence soon fell between the two, Madeline sipping at her coffee and Arthur flipping through pages being the only sounds to break the silence. Madeline fidgeted in her seat, nibbling at the soft material that made up the cup's rim as her eyes darted back and forth between the floor and agent England. Arthur wasn't aware of the young woman's anxiousness, and continued to skim through the magazine and occassionally look up to glare at agent France.

"So, what are your opinions on our situation? I didn't want to act without speaking to the both of you first," Ludwig said in his usual gravely voice, shifting his stern gaze between agent Japan and agent Italy. _I also couldn't act because I can't tell what either of them are thinking...Kiku because he's just so silent all the time, and Feliciano because...well, of obvious reasons..._, he added in his head, sighing when he noticed agent Italy was looking out the window and _not paying attention_.

"I understand if the both of you are not willing to help this group, but I wish to aid my brother in his endeavors...," Kiku replied politely, inclining his head slightly as a form of silent apology if he was going against their decisions.

"Nein, I was thinking of helping them as well...While I don't know all the facts, I believe what I've been told by these rogue agents. Why else would they be risking their lives like this? If I can atone for the sins I've committed in The Foundation's name by helping them, then I'll do so," Ludwig murmured, his sharp blue eyes pinning a look on Feliciano.

"Ve~ I want to help them, too! They're all really nice and kinda funny, except for that one scary old guy and the other big, scary guy...But, other than that, I like them! And once you get used to those two scary guys, they aren't all that bad either. Kinda like you, Luddy," Feliciano chirped happily, giving his companions a goofy smile.

"I thought I told you not to _ever_ call me Luddy again...," agent Germany growled, an embarrassed flush forcing its way onto his face.

"But I like to!" Feliciano exclaimed, his smile broadening.

Ludwig was incredibly close to strangling agent Italy, but a scream from down the hall drew everyone's attention suddenly.

"W-What was that, eh?!" Madeline mewled, her dull blue eyes going wide in shock and fear.

"It came from down that way, aru...Isn't that where agent Winter went?" Yao asked, already out of his chair with his gun in hand.

"Katyusha...," Francis breathed, worry and fear tingling down his spine. He didn't wait for the images of what could have happened to her to flash through his frantic mind, running full-pelt down the hallway with the rest of the group struggling to keep up with him.

* * *

><p>"Now, now...There's no reason for you to fear me, so long as you tell me where agent Russia is...," Nergui said in a breathy tone, his wounds seriously starting to affect him and slow him down. He pulled his serated dagger from agent Winter's side with a sickening sound of tearing flesh and splattering blood, stumbling over the man's prone form to pin Katyusha against the wall. "Where is he?"<p>

Katyusha whimpered and held back a sob, her eyes darting down to the steadily growing pool of blood under Nikolai's body. She flinched as the Mongolian man's breath hit her in the face, the overpowering metallic smell of blood causing her eyes to water and make her gag. "I-I don't know...," she stammered out, shutting her eyes tightly.

"That's not what I wanted to hear~," agent Mongolia hummed in a sing-song voice, running the tip of his dagger along Katyusha's left cheek, leaving a thin line of blood. "Let's try again, hm? Where is agent Russia?" he demanded, punctuating each word with more applied pressure on the dagger.

"справедливое требование здесь, побочный ребёнок!*" Ivan shouted, tackling Nergui to the floor.

Agent Mongolia let out a pained grunt as he hit the floor with Ivan's full weight on top of him, the serated dagger slipping from his blood-slicked grasp. Black dots burst across his vision as the back of his head smacked against the ground, and his ears rang dully like a bell muffled in thin cloth. Just as he regained his senses, his head snapped back from a solid punch; an audible crack sounding from the blow, blood gushing from his demolished nose.

Amelia wasn't far behind, and she quickly pulled Katyusha away from the violence. "Are you okay?" she asked, inspecting the woman for any injuries. She glanced up for a brief moment when she heard a loud crack from where Ivan and agent Mongolia were grappling.

"No, no...I'm f-fine," the beige haired woman sniffled, her eyes still tightly shut.

After making sure the only wound Katyusha had was a very small cut to her cheek, Amelia then moved on to agent Winter. "Shit...This is really bad...," the blonde muttered to herself, gingerly pressing her hands to the older man's side to try and stop the hemorrhaging.

"Katyusha!" a frantic French voice cried shrilly, Francis turning down the hall at a break-neck speed. He stopped himself suddenly, barely avoiding the bloody scene in front of him.

"Yao, get over here! I can't stop the bleeding!" Amelia shouted, glancing up desperately at the Chinese man. _Come on, old timer, you can't give up yet! You haven't completed your last mission!_ she screamed to herself, her mouth held in a thin line as she kept her hands firmly pressed to agent Winter's wound.

Agent China rushed over, skirting Ivan as he continued to beat agent Mongolia mercilessly. "What happened, aru?" he asked in a serious voice, ignoring the blood on the floor as he knelt down to inspect the older man's side.

"That son of a bitch stabbed him with that dagger of his, the one with the serated blade. Damn it, this shouldn't have happened!" Amelia snarled through gritted teeth, blue eyes blazing with fury.

Yao bit his bottom lip lightly, his honey brown eyes shifting from the bloody wound to the dagger that lay on the floor. "Aiyah...How could you have let your guard down when we were so close?" he muttered in a soft tone, closing his eyes temporarily. "I can't do anything, aru, the wound is too deep."

"What do you mean? You can't do _anything_?!" Amelia demanded, getting up to her feet in outrage.

Agent China didn't react to the American's anger, and continued to try and staunch the bleeding. "I do not have the supplies or materials to mend this sort of wound, and we don't have the time or liberty to take him to a hospital for treatment, aru. What little medical aid we had brought was destroyed in the van explosion...I simply can't do anything but keep him alive for a little while longer," he explained in a calm manner, his eyes remaining downcast.

"You...You mean, h-he's going to...die?" Katyusha whispered in a grief-stricken tone, tears running freely down her cheeks.

Yao nodded silently, letting out a tired sigh. _You were supposed to finish what you started...Foolish man..._, he thought to himself, bowing his head in respect for the dying man.

Amelia turned her head, not wanting to accept that agent Winter wouldn't live through this. _I...couldn't keep my promise to him..._, she thought, her throat tightening as she fought to keep her emotions in check. For all that she had been taking this seriously, she hadn't ever come to the realization that they might actually be _killed_ doing this.

A gurgling laugh erupted from agent Mongolia, a crooked smile splitting his bloody face. "I killed him...I _killed_ him! Anfisa, my love, now I can finally have you...He won't keep you from me any longer...," he chuckled, his black eyes shining with insanity.

Ivan felt his loose grip on control slip away as he heard agent Mongolia - his mother's _killer_ - speak about her in such a way, unbridled rage clouding his senses. "перерыв говорение*," he spat, slamming his fist into the man's jaw. As agent Mongolia continued to laugh, his breaths becoming wispy and labored, Ivan continued to land blows on him, not even registering when bone gave way underneath his fist or when Nergui no longer moved. Blood splattered in droplets onto his clothes and face, his fist stained in the red substance. He pulled back his arm for another punch, but felt resistance as someone grabbed his wrist. Ivan turned on the person and pinned them up against the opposite wall, his sides heaving with angered breaths.

"Amelia!" Arthur shouted in concern; he started forward to help the American, but Francis held him back. "Are you mad?! We have to help her!" he protested, trying to break free of the Frenchman's surprisingly firm grip.

"Non...She has this under control," Francis murmured, his expression serious. "Trust her, Arthur."

The Brit shook the other's arm off, but stayed where he was, a worried and alert look on his face. _Don't do anything stupid, you yank! _he thought to himself, struggling to remain where he was and not rush over to help Amelia.

Madeline was having a hard time staying where she was as well, but she trusted her sister to know what she was doing. That didn't mean she wasn't scared for her twin's well-being at the moment, though; no matter how confident Amelia was, there were some things that she just couldn't handle.

Amelia grimaced slightly at how powerful Ivan's grip on her shoulders was, but she wasn't going to let it stop her from snapping the Russian out of the daze he was in. "Ivan, you need to snap out of it now. I need you to come back, okay? Look at me; there's nothing else, just you and me, alright?" she said in a soft but firm voice, placing her hands on either side of his face and forcing him to look at her directly.

"We don't have time for this...Someone will come down here to investigate that scream, and we don't want to be here when that happens," Ludwig grumbled in a low tone, scanning the hallway to make sure they were still the only ones there.

"Hai, I agree...But we should give them a little more time, Ludwig-san...If only so that they may speak with agent Winter for the last time," Kiku concured, glancing at the sobbing Katyusha with sympathy.

Agent Italy was holding back his own tears, biting his bottom lip as he shifted back and forth anxiously. "Ve...He may have been scary and grumpy, but he shouldn't have passed away like this...It should have been calm and peaceful, surrounded by cute little bambini* everywhere...," he sniffled, fidgeting with his hands as he tried not to break out crying.

"Katyusha...are you alright?" Francis asked, placing his hands hesitantly on the woman's shoulders. He didn't know if she wanted to be left alone at the moment or not, and he didn't want to over-step his boundaries.

Katyusha turned and buried her face into the Frenchman's chest, sobbing loudly. Francis carefully wrapped his arms around her, whispering to her comfortingly.

Amelia continued to coax Ivan out of himself slowly, speaking in a low voice that seemed to capture his attention despite the other noises that should have over-powered the soft tone in the hallway. She eased his vice-like grip from her shoulders, his bloodied hands falling to his sides. "Hey, calm down...There's no threat, nothing to fight, so just take a few breaths and come back," she said, keeping eye contact with the Russian.

"He's...dead?" Ivan asked in a near inaudible voice, his body loosening up from its tense position as he regained lucidity.

"Agent Mongolia? Yeah...he's dead," Amelia answered, allowing a small, relieved smile onto her face.

Ivan shook his head, his amethyst eyes closing briefly. "Nyet...Not him, I know I killed _him_," he muttered darkly, glaring at agent Mongolia's lifeless body, "Agent Winter...Is he dead?"

"Oh...um," Amelia faltered, her eyes lowering to the floor.

"I'm not...dead yet...boy...You think you can...get rid of me that...easily?" Nikolai coughed, propping himself up against the wall, a grimace on his worn face. His icy gaze was dim, but it still held his sharp focus. He motioned for Katyusha to come over to him, his movements slow and clumsy.

Katyusha immediately stumbled over to the older man's side, her fair face streaked with tears. She was about to say something to him, but Nikolai hushed her, bringing his blood-stained lips closer to her ear. The beige haired woman was silent as she listened to what he whispered to her, a shakey nod confirming something between the two. Once they had finished conversing quietly, Nikolai turned his gaze to Ivan in a silent command to come over. Ivan hesitantly complied, kneeling down on the bloody floor next to agent Winter.

"Do you remember...what you asked me all those years ago, on one of your first field missions?" agent Winter asked, his voice growing softer so that only Ivan could hear him.

"I asked you...if you feared your own death," Ivan replied, frowning at the memory.

"And what did I tell you?"

"So long as you served your purpose, you did not fear death."

Nikolai nodded slowly, his eyes drifting shut. "And I have served my purpose as best I could...," he slurred out, his breath sighing out of his body in a soft whisper.

* * *

><p>справедливое требование здесь, побочный ребёнок : Right here, bastard <strong>in Russian<strong>

перерыв говорение : Stop talking **in Russian**

bambini : Kids **in Italian**


	28. Capital of Sinners

"We're leaving...," Ivan said abruptly, jerking up from the bloody floor in a sudden movement.

"But...what about Niki? What are we going to do? We can't just leave him here," Katyusha sniffed, teary eyes gazing sadly at the older man's body.

"And how the bloody hell are we leaving? Do you plan on _walking_ to The Foundation's headquarters?!" Arthur snapped, still not over how the large Russian had lashed out at Amelia just moments before.

Ivan was silent as he quickly searched agent Mongolia's body for whatever weapons he had concealed on his person, as well as taking Nikolai's hand gun. "There's a reason that agent Winter led us into this part of the city, _Kirkland_," he seethed, giving the Brit a dangerous look. "There's an old tunnel that The Foundation used as an emergency exit only several buildings away from this place; there are hundreds just like it spider-webbed underneath the city that stretch from the center of The Foundation's headquarters to numerous safe points in the United States. If there was ever a catastrophe in the area, then The Foundation's agents could escape to a safer part of the country without arousing suspicion."

"The escape tunnels? But those are monitored, we'll be caught!" Arthur spat back, his thick eyebrows scrunched up crossly.

"Not if you take out the cameras that are littered throughout the tunnel, Iggy. If you can shut those down, then it'll just be a matter of us all getting through there before they can bring them back online," Amelia said, looking the older agent in the eye with unabashed determination.

Arthur closed his eyes, a sigh escaping him. "How long do they need to be down for us to get through?" he asked in a low voice, keeping his gaze trained on the fading wallpaper to his left.

Amelia grinned, squeezing the blonde man's shoulder reassuringly as she looked back over to Ivan.

"Ten minutes, if we can get through without any problems," the Russian answered, sliding the hand gun into the shoulder holster that was hidden by his jacket.

"Aiyah...This plan...," Yao moaned distraughtfully, shaking his head. "How do you expect to get a group of this size through the tunnels in such a short amount of time, aru?" he asked, gesturing to the others.

"Simple. Just make the group smaller," Ivan replied, eyeing agents Germany, Japan, and Italy.

"Do not ignore me, Ivan Braginski! You will answer me when I ask you about such a thing!" Katyusha burst out with uncharacteristic ferocity, tears running in streaks down her face.

The hallway was silent as the two siblings stared at one another, both with differing expressions.

Amelia glanced from Katyusha's grieved expression to Ivan's look of indifference. _If only agent Winter could have told him...I wish I could tell him right now, but I promised...Damn it_, she thought to herself, her eyes drifting down to the older man's body. _He doesn't even know what he just lost here..._

Ivan's gaze shifted from his sister's desperate look as he wrapped an arm around her hesitantly, awkwardly pulling her into a hug. "пожалуйста нота до не плач*...," he murmured, his purple eyes focused on the bloody floor. "We can't do anything for him now, but I promise...we'll come back and get him. We will do right by him," he whispered into her ear, feeling Katyusha tighten her hold around his middle as she attempted to stifle her sobs.

* * *

><p>"I don't like this," Amelia muttered, keeping a hand on the damp wall next to her as she stumbled along the pitch black path of the escape tunnel.<p>

Just as Ivan had said, the entrance to this specific tunnel was in a broken down old building only a few blocks away from the hotel that they'd stayed in last night. The tunnel hadn't been used in quite some time, as it appeared, and the building it was housed in had been taken over by crack addicts and other unsavory individuals. Once the group had flashed their weapons, the drug-addled men and women had fled as fast as they could manage, hardly making a fuss as they were suddenly kicked out of their drug den by an armed group that weren't cops or a gang.

"None of us like this situation, mon cher...This place is quite foul," Francis huffed, helping Katyusha as she tripped over an uneven rise in the concrete flooring.

"How the bollocks am I supposed to do this while walking?! Stupid Russian git...," Arthur grumbled under his breath, trying to type furiously on the laptop in his hands while walking forward in the dark.

"D-Do you need any help?" Madeline asked, not really even knowing _how_ she could help the Englishman.

Arthur muttered something to himself angrily, eventually saying something along the lines of, "No, that's quite alright" to the soft-spoken young woman. "Everybody stop; we're about to hit our first obstacle...There's a camera just in front of us, in the upper left," he hissed out to the rest of the group, hoping the camera didn't pick up any of the noise that they were making.

"How long will this take you, aru? We don't have that much time," Yao reminded the blonde man, whispering into his ear.

"It will take as long as it takes," Arthur snarled in a low voice, shooting the Chinese man a frosty glare. "This isn't something that you rush; one mistake can end it all. This isn't like hacking into a bank's security system, this is much more complicated."

"I really do question your upbringing, mon ami," Francis murmured thoughtfully, eyeing the Brit as he refocused his attention to the computer in his arms.

Arthur's lips formed a thin line on his face, his green eyes narrowed as he concentrated on what he was doing. "That was a long time ago...I had quite a different mind-set back then," he retorted in a soft tone, not looking up from what he was furiously typing into the keyboard.

"Are you seriously telling me that stuffy ol' Iggy used to be a punk?" Amelia whispered curiously to Francis.

"Oh, yes, but don't let him hear you say that. He wants to try and maintain his 'British gentleman' reputation," Francis chuckled, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"Alright, I've almost got it...," Arthur whispered, biting his lower lip; it was a nervous habit he'd had as a boy when he had started to get into hacking computers. "Now, I'm only going to say this once, so you'd all better bloody listen. We will have a very short window of time to get through these tunnels; no one can stop for anything, absolutely _nothing_. I can't even say that this will work for more then a few seconds before it's corrected, so we need to go to the nearest point of entry. Amelia, you're in front, so you really need to pay attention to my directions."

"Okay, I'm listening," she responded, trying to make out the Brit's face in the darkness.

"You want to keep going straight for several feet, then take a right - there are several other passages that branch off, but they all lead to dead ends. You'll keep going until you hit a wall - don't worry, it's false, you just need to input a code for it to open - then you want to take another right, then a left. If we get through in time, we should end up in one of the weapons facilities," Arthur directed, his hand posed above the keyboard as he waited for the directions to be repeated back to him.

"'Kay, got it. Let's get movin', guys," Amelia said, turning back around to face the blackness ahead of her.

Arthur nodded silently, taking a breath. "Everybody ready? Now!" he half-yelled, entering the code to take the cameras offline.

* * *

><p>"You're going to have to make it look more convincing than this," Ivan muttered, rolling his shoulders in discomfort as his hands were handcuffed behind his back.<p>

"What do you want me to do? Hit you?" Ludwig asked in a wary tone, disliking the thought of injuring a defenseless person.

"Yes," Ivan replied simply, his purple eyes boring into the German's sharp blue ones.

Agent Germany shook his head, breaking eye contact. "Fine...," he acquiesced, clenching his gloved hand tightly.

"We don't have all day-" Ivan started to complain, but he was swiftly cut off by Ludwig slugging him in the mouth. The punch sent him stumbling backwards, his balance offset by his hands being constrained behind his back by the cuffs. He spat out blood, smirking. "That's better," Ivan said, licking blood from the corner of his mouth.

* * *

><p>"Iggy, hurry up! What's the fucking code?!" Amelia shouted, punching random numbers into the keypad at a frenzied pace.<p>

"Just...Just give me a moment!" Arthur hissed, frantically scanning through information to find the door's code.

"We do not _have_ a moment," Francis said in a low tone.

"Would you bloody well shut up! I've almost got it!" Arthur spat out, his lip bleeding from where he had bit down on it too hard. "The code is five, one, zero, eight, nine, zero, two, zero," he relayed in a rushed voice, looking up anxiously as Amelia put in the code.

There was a light clicking noise that echoed through the cavernous tunnel, followed by a soft whoosh as the door swung open. The group stumbled through the doorway quickly, the metal door slamming shut behind them. They ran down the dark hallway as fast as they could manage, bursting into the room that lay beyond the second door they were faced with. Frantic panting was the only thing heard in the cold weapons room for a few minutes, everyone slightly disbelieving that they had made it through.

"W-Wow...That was suspenseful, eh," Madeline piped, shaking with nervous energy. "I wasn't sure we were going to make it through there for a second."

"Ha, ha, ha! Of _course_ we were gonna make it through fine! That was a piece of cake - not even a real cake, more like a cupcake! Yeah...that's how easy it was," Amelia laughed in a sort of nervous yet relieved way, clearing her throat as she walked over to the racks lined with different weapons. "We should stock up on weapons and ammo while we have the chance, we're probably gonna need some serious guns for this," she said, searching for some ammunition rounds for several different types of guns.

"Don't forget about grabbing some bullet-proof vests; we won't get very far without them, no matter how many guns we have, aru," agent China huffed, grumbling something about testing luck in Chinese.

"Oh, dear...," Katyusha hummed out anxiously, running her eyes over the multitude of deadly weapons in the room.

Francis, noticing her distress, pulled her over to where the tactical gear was, searching through the variety of gear to find something for the woman. "You don't have to carry a gun, if you don't feel comfortable doing so; I can, and will, protect you at all times," he murmured, running his thumb slowly over the knuckles of her left hand.

"No, I...I want to help. Niki...he taught me how to handle a gun, just in case of a situation where he wasn't there to defend me." Katyusha hesitated for a moment, the shadow of the older man's dead body reflecting in her eyes. "I know _how_ to use one, I just don't _want_ to use one. But, if it means helping my dear little brother, I will do what I must," she replied in a shaky voice that built in confidence as she continued to speak.

Amelia looked up from dumping some ammunition rounds into a duffel bag as Arthur quietly approached her, his face set in a tight expression. "What is it, Iggy?" she asked, keeping her voice low, sensing that he wished this conversation to be as private as possible.

"I have to know...Why are you _really _doing this? Are you just trying to save him because of you wanting to be a hero, or...or is it what you think is love? If you're going to put yourself in such danger for this man, I need to know that you're doing it for a good reason," he murmured, not looking her in the eye.

"Well...is it a good enough reason to want to be the hero to those you love? I'm not just doing this for Ivan, y'know," Amelia replied, smiling warmly. "We all deserve another chance to live the way we want to, especially since the majority of us never got a say in how our lives were supposed to go up until now."

Arthur finally looked up to meet Amelia's gaze, his green eyes softening at the American's answer. "I understand, Amelia," he said, nodding his head slightly. Clearing his throat, he added, "When we're finished with this, I'm going to give that tosser a good talking to on how I expect you to be treated, and if he slips up once, I'll be sure to set him straight for you."

Amelia rolled her eyes, letting out a short snort of laughter. "Pfft...between you, Francis, and Maddie, I'm pretty sure Ivan's gonna stay in line. I mean, with how protective you all are, he won't even be able to sneeze without you guys interrogating him!" she laughed, finding the thought rather funny.

"This is no time for joking around, aru! We need to get out of here before anyone else decides to show up," Yao hissed in impatience, bustling about the room in a frenzy. "We all need our own weapons and protective gear, just in case we get separated from one another, we won't be completely defenseless; we can't rely too much on each other as a group, aru."

Arthur sent the man a look. "Well, I suppose I should go and get one of those blasted vests...Don't want to give Yao an aneurism," he muttered sourly, not liking how bossy the little Asian man could get, even if it was for their own good.

"Yeah," Amelia said, going over to help her twin when she saw Madeline struggling with some of the straps for her vest. "Hey, sis, need some help with that?" she asked, tapping her sister on the shoulder.

Madeline flushed a bit with embarrassment, but nodded her head. "I know I learned how to do this right in training, eh...I guess I'm just a bit...," she trailed off, inhaling shakily.

"Nervous, freaked out, scared shitless?" Amelia offered with a forced chuckle, re-doing the velcro straps on the vest.

"Um...Yeah, I guess you could say it like that," Madeline said hesitantly, watching her twin closely. "What about you, Melie? How are you feeling?" she asked, though she felt that she could take a pretty accurate guess.

Amelia was quiet for a while, checking and re-checking her sister's gear. Running her hand over the black material of the bullet-proof vest, she mumbled out, "I'm fucking scared, Maddie...W-What if this goes wrong? The only thing I can think of that's worse than dying, is seeing everyone I care about getting killed and not being able to do anything to stop it."

Madeline wrapped her arms around Amelia, pulling her close in a hug. "You know the best thing about a hero, Melie?" she murmured, feeling Amelia shake her head against her shoulder. "Even when a hero is scared, they still go off to fight the villain. And that's exactly what we're doing here, Melie. We're all scared, but we're still going to fight for what we know is right, and for those we care about. And you know what?" she hummed, waiting for another shake of the head from her sister. "Even if something does go wrong...we will still win."

* * *

><p>After the larger group had left down the escape tunnels, Ludwig and Kiku had hotwired a car from the street and had retraced the way they had come, with agent Mongolia, to get back to The Foundation. Once specifying to several guards that they needed to meet with the Commissioner immediately to inform him of the capture of the rogue agent Russia, they were showed to the sector where The Foundation's leader resided.<p>

"Once we get to the Commissioner's office, what do you want us to do?" Ludwig grumbled in a low voice as he led Ivan down a hall in The Foundation's headquarters, Kiku and Feliciano right at his heels.

"You will go to the control room and set off the emergency alarm, announcing that all agents must leave headquarters immediately through the escape tunnels. Once I'm finished with the Commissioner, I'm blowing this place to hell," Ivan replied bluntly.

"Do you not think that at least one of us should stay behind to help you? The Commissioner may call for back-up," Kiku pointed out, his eyes narrowing in thought.

"He won't get the fucking chance," Ivan growled, sliding a contemptuous look at the shorter man.

Kiku remained silent, but he had a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Alright, this is his office," Ludwig said, glancing around the hallway before he released Ivan from the handcuffs. "We'll set off the alarm and then meet up with the others while the other agents evacuate. Then, we'll wait for you to catch up with us after you set up the explosives."

"Da, that is the plan," Ivan said, checking his gun before slipping into the room.

Ludwig let out a breath before turning around to head back the way they had just come, trying to remember where the control room was.

"Ve, Ludwig, where are you going? The control room is this way!" Feliciano exclaimed cheerfully, pointing down the opposite end of the hallway.

Agent Germany pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, trudging back to the brunet in slight embarrassment. "Ahem, well, since you seem to know the way...," he trailed off, waving his hand at the Italian in a gesture that said, "Lead the way".

"Okey-dokey, Luddy! Just follow me, you guys!" Feliciano said in a happy tone, jogging down the hall in a not-so-stealthy fashion.

* * *

><p>Ivan closed the door silently behind him, slowly moving forward into the room. The room was lit with a low light that gave it the impression of having more warmth than it actually held, and was furnished with rich, dark wooded furniture. The air was stale, and had a chemical smell to it.<p>

A sharp intake of breath alerted Ivan to another presence in the room, and he quickly turned to face whoever it was. He was faced with a young woman with long, dark beige hair in a white bow, her dark blue eyes going wide in shock. Ivan nearly mimicked her expression, caught off guard.

"Who are you?" the woman demanded, recovering quickly from her surprise.

"N-Natasha?" Ivan choked out in disbelief, lowering his gun as he stared in shock at his younger sister.

Cerulean eyes narrowed in suspicion at him, calculating his intent. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm your...I'm your broth-"

"Ah, Ivan...So good of you to finally show up," came a disgustingly familiar voice, an older man seeming to appear out of nowhere as he entered the room through a hidden door in the wall. "It wouldn't be much of a family reunion without you, don't you agree?" John Mortimer chuckled low in his throat, placing a gnarled hand on Natalia's arm.

* * *

><p>пожалуйста нота до не плач : Please do not cry <strong>in Russian<strong>


	29. Everything Into the Dark

"What is going on here, Mortimer? Who is this man?" Natalia demanded, attempting to subtly move away from the old man. When his grip on her arm didn't ease up, she turned her head to glare at the American, though he didn't seem very interested in her at the moment.

"_You_...A-All this time?" Ivan breathed out, shifting his grip on his gun in agitation. His mind was racing through everything he could remember of his time in The Foundation, trying to find a memory where he had ever actually _seen_ the Commissioner. _This isn't right...How could I have not known, how could he have fooled me for so long?!_ he thought, his mind starting to short-circuit as he failed to come up with anything to show that there was no connection between the Commissioner and John Mortimer.

"You thought that you had escaped me, but you will _never_ be free of The Foundation," the Commissioner spat, his fingers digging into Natalia's arm slightly, making the younger woman hiss in discomfort. "I never lose track of my agents, and even when they defect, they are always of some use to me. Take yourself, for example...You left The Foundation and joined that weapons smuggling ring without a second thought, never once questioning the information that was put out about the group itself. Maybe if you had looked into it closely, you would have noticed several discrepancies. It wasn't part of my original plan for you, but it turned out quite wonderfully, all things considered. You had isolated yourself from the world so much that you couldn't even tell the difference between a drug lord and a politician, killing as indiscriminately as a rabid animal. All of the jobs you did over the years were funding the very organization you sought to destroy," he chuckled darkly, scooping up a small remote from his desk and pressing a button.

A screen on the wall lit up to show black and white footage similar to that of a security camera, showing Ivan torturing the man from the last job he had carried out, the man's screams piercing through the small room. The footage changed to another mission, one where he was much younger but still very capable of slitting a woman's throat without blinking.

Ivan couldn't look away from the screen, remembering each kill like it had happened only moments ago. He swallowed thickly, trying to keep control of himself as the unwanted memories hit him like a brick wall. He forced himself to look away from the screen, aiming jerkily at Mortimer. "Turn it off...," he growled, his entire body shaking as another scream erupted from the stereo system in the walls to correspond with yet another grisly death on the monitor screen.

"Why so shy, agent Russia? These are some very impressive accomplishments, take pride in them, there's no need to be so humble," Mortimer said, disregarding the Russian's demand.

"I said, turn it off!" Ivan yelled, his grip tightening on the weapon in his hand as he applied pressure to the trigger.

"Ah, ah, ah...I wouldn't get too carried away, if I were you. Wouldn't want to _accidentally_ hit your delightful sister, now would you?" Mortimer chided, as if he were speaking to a child.

"Coward! Stop using others to shield yourself!" Ivan snarled, though he lowered his gun a bit as his eyes shifted to glance at Natalia.

"Mm, yes...People such as yourself would see this as cowardice, not smarts. But, even you can't deny that it _is_ effective. You haven't killed me yet, have you?" Mortimer hummed, placing the remote back on the desk. He reached further back on the desk to retrieve his own gun, aiming it at Natalia's side. "Drop your weapon and kick it over there. If you don't, than I'll shoot her," he ordered, pressing the muzzle of the old model firearm into the young woman's left side.

Natalia stared down at the weapon in slight shock, her eyes widening fractionally. "You lied to me...," she whispered, her expression morphing into one of anger.

The Commissioner tsked at her in disapproval, his watery eyes boring into her sharp ones. "About some things, yes, but not what you are referring to. You've been searching for your long lost brother, and I offered my aid. Now, here you are, and there he is; were you expecting something...different?" he asked, smiling in mock concern for her possible disappointment. Turning his attention back to agent Russia, he said, "I'll shoot her, but I'll make sure to not kill her right away. I'll make you watch her die slowly, painfully, if you don't do what I say."

Ivan hesitated to give up his weapon, his jaw tightening as he clenched his teeth in frustrated rage.

"_Now_, agent Russia," the Commissioner ordered, his tone terse.

Ivan lowered his gun completely from the older man, letting out a slow breath. He carefully eased the weapon down to the floor, kicking it off to the side. "She has nothing to do with this, it's just between you and me," he growled, edging closer to the other two.

"Ah, ah...You stay over there; there's no need for us to get up-close and personal, wouldn't you agree?" Mortimer chuckled in an unnerving way, moving his gun up so that the muzzle grazed against Natalia's cheek. "Now...I think we should all take a walk, clear our heads a little, hmm?" he sneered, gesturing towards the door with his gun.

* * *

><p>"Hm? What's this...," Eduard Von Bock, agent Estonia, murmured under his breath, looking over The Foundation's security camera footage. His eyes widened behind silver glasses, the computer monitors reflected in the lenses. "Not possible...There's no way..."<p>

A younger boy, still in training, glanced over from his little corner of the control room. "What is it, Mr. Von Bock, sir?" Raivis asked, confused by the usually unflinching man's shocked tone of voice. He made a little sound in the back of his throat, remembering that agent Estonia had told him to not call him by Mister, saying that he was not married nor was he all that old, so the title did not apply to him. Raivis found it odd, but he really didn't want to get into any trouble with the older agent; he really wasn't any good with confrontation of any sort.

"I thought I told you to call me by my name, Raivis...I've known you since you came here, no need for such formalities," Eduard muttered, furiously typing on the keyboard in front of him. _What's going on here? The security cameras for escape tunnel twenty-nine are offline...but how could that have happened? _he thought to himself, his blue eyes quickly scanning through the information that came up on the screen.

"O-Oh, sorry! I just - well, I thought...I mean, what I mean to say is...you have seniority over me, so I just sort of figured you'd prefer it if I didn't act so...informal with you," Raivis stammered out, trying to compose himself and calm his jittered nerves. _Oh...I'm never going to get through my training alive, am I? Even if I don't go out into the field, I might just have a panic attack and keel over!_ he worried, his small body starting to shake with anxiousness.

Eduard glanced over at the younger male for a brief moment, noticing the fifteen-year-old's anxiousness. He was never very good at reassuring people or making them feel safe, that had always been Toris's realm of expertise, but he was the only one there with Riavis at the moment. "Don't get so worked up over nothing, Raivis, you're doing fine. You've still got five more years of training left, I'm sure you'll find something that you're good at by the end of it all," he said in as warm a voice as he could muster, having a semi-difficult time splitting his mind between the technological problem in front of him and the emotional one next to him.

Raivis felt his face color a bit at the mention of his re-assignment to this sector; he had already been put into three different training programs before being pushed into the security sector, and he still hadn't found anything that he could excel in well enough to continue in the program before they transferred him to something else. "I...guess. If you say so, Eduard...," he mumbled, not sharing whatever confidence his friend had in him.

"Alrighty! This is the place!" a distinctively cheerful voice suddenly broke through the awkward quiet of the room, a group of three people entering through the usually locked door.

"Feliciano, we're supposed to be _sneaking_ into the control room, that requires us being _quiet_!" a frustrated blonde man bellowed, his voice carrying a German accent.

The third man was exceptionally silent compared to the other two, his dull brown eyes scanning the room emotionlessly. "Agent Germany, I believe you are contradicting yourself," he said, more to himself than to his companions.

"Ack! W-Who are you three?!" Raivis squeaked, jumping at the sudden intrusion.

"None of you have clearance to be here, I must ask that you leave at once," Eduard demanded in a calm tone, spinning in his chair to face the three intruders.

The man with the German accent slowly approached agent Estonia, his expression very serious. "And I'm afraid you don't know what's going on here," he replied in turn, slamming a hand down onto the bespectacled man's shoulder. "You are going to empty out The Foundation's headquarters for me."

Eduard's eyes narrowed, a thrill of fear and uncertainty running up and down his spine. "And why would I do that?" he inquired slowly, weighing his options as he could see Raivis shivering in a corner of the room, pretending he wasn't there. He had a low caliber gun in a drawer to his left, but there were three of them and only one of him; Raivis didn't have his own weapon yet, and Eduard didn't think that the younger boy could shoot one off, even in a situation like this.

"If you want to be one of the good guys, then you'll help us," agent Italy chimed in, smiling at the two.

"One of...the good guys?" Raivis questioned shakily, edging further against the wall.

"We don't want to harm you," Ludwig said, lifting his hand from agent Estonia's shoulder, "But we _will _do what's necessary for the greater good, so I suggest you don't stand in our way."

Agent Japan remained silent, his gaze flickering to one of the many monitors that flashed eerily in the room. His mouth tightened into a thin line as he saw something that went unnoticed by the others in the room, the footage from the camera flickering to a different position as the three figures exited the Commissioner's office. His presence mostly forgotten for the moment, Kiku slipped out of the control room, his gun at the ready as he ran down a different hallway to intercept agent Russia and the Commissioner.

"Now, set off the emergency alarm and announce the evacuation of _all_ agents from the headquarters' premises," agent Germany ordered, gesturing to the computer in front of agent Estonia. "Do it without alerting anyone to your predicament, and we'll leave you to your evacuation unharmed and free to go where you choose without my gun to your back."

Agent Estonia swallowed, hesitantly turning back to his keyboard. He shot a glance back over to Raivis, knowing that he had to go along with the rogue agent's threats. He quickly accessed the internal speaker system that went all throughout The Foundation's underground headquarters, setting off the alarm that was used only in the most dire of emergencies. "This is the control room speaking, all agents are ordered to evacuate immediately. This is not optional. All agents must evacuate through the escape tunnels as per emergency protocol. Do not panic, this is merely a simulated test at efficiency," Eduard spoke into the microphone, thinking of the most logical way of playing this off as something normal so as not to garner suspicion.

Agent Germany nodded his approval, and agent Italy gave a happy cheer.

"Alright, you two should leave as well. This place is a ticking time bomb, and you don't want to get caught in the blast," Ludwig said in a stern, yet caring, in his own way, tone.

"Wait...You mean this place is rigged with explosives?!" Raivis whimpered, biting his bottom lip hard.

"Ve~ Yes, but it's for the best! This place shouldn't survive for someone else to use for their own gains," Feliciano chirped, trying to ease the short boy's obvious fears. "Isn't that right, Kiku?" he asked for confirmation from his friend, stopping abruptly when he didn't see the quiet Japanese man behind him, as he thought the other was. "L-Ludwig, Kiku is gone!"

* * *

><p>The Commissioner's head shot up as the emergency alarm went off, an explanation for the alert being voiced by one of the control room operators. "Ah...Quite clever of you, agent Russia," he hummed in an almost impressed tone, glancing thoughtfully at the Russian walking a few paces ahead of him and Natalia. "I have to ask, though, was it you or agent Winter who thought this up? Nikolai always was one for planning things out and trapping his target...You, well, you were more for following orders rather than thinking on your own."<p>

"You seem to have answered that for yourself," Ivan growled over his shoulder, keeping as close to the older man as he was allowed, waiting for an opening.

"Well, I've learnt that intelligence doesn't always come as a cut jewel; sometimes, you have to polish it to see that you've actually found a diamond in the rough," he replied, a corner of his mouth turning up in a wrinkled smile. "So, how many of my agents have you convinced to join you in this foolhardy attempt to destroy me, hm? I'd like to know if I should be impressed...or offended," Mortimer inquired in a snide tone, sneering.

"Why don't you wait and find out? You seem to enjoy playing games," Ivan replied, refusing to answer the Commissioner's question.

"Hm...I'm always up for playing cat and mouse, agent Russia. Let's see just how many mice I can find scurrying through my walls," Mortimer chortled, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he smiled widely.

Natalia remained silent as the two went back and forth verbally, like a game of chess visible to only their eyes. _Whether or not this...agent Russia is my brother, he's my safest bet at the moment. All I need to do is wait and watch_, she thought, readying herself for any opportunity to present itself.

* * *

><p>Amelia couldn't help wincing at the loud wail of the emergency alarm as it went off, shaking her head to dispel the slight ringing in her ears. "Alright, guys, this is it. There's no need to worry about dodging cameras or other agents, 'kay? Every agent in here is going to be heading out through the escape tunnels, all we have to do is find that sick fuck, Mortimer," Amelia said, hefting her bag of ammo and prepping her gun for use. She hoped that they wouldn't run into any other agents and end up in a fire fight, but she wasn't going to be caught unprepared if it did happen.<p>

"Who has the explosives?" Arthur asked, wanting to make sure that whoever was carrying them knew to protect that bag from any gunfire or excessive jarring.

"I do, aru. If anyone is going to be hauling these around, it should be someone who has gone through the majority of their lives," agent China spoke up, carrying the duffel bag close to himself.

"So, where are we heading? If all has gone according to plan with agent Russie, than he has already gotten into the Commissioner's quarters," Francis murmured, looking serious.

Madeline stepped closer to Arthur, a thoughtful expression on her pale face. "Well, could you hack back into the system and try to find Mortimer by using the security cameras?" she wondered aloud.

"Whoa, Maddie, that's awesome! Great idea!" Amelia cheered, grinning at her twin with obvious pride.

"Can you really do that?" Katyusha piped up, sounding slightly awed.

Arthur flushed a bit from all the attention he was suddenly being thrust into, not being one for frolicking in the spotlight. "Ahem, well, yes...I suppose that would be the most intelligent course of action at the moment. No use in charging around without any clue as to where we should go. Quite brilliant of you, Madeline," he said, clearing his throat as he dug through his pack to retrieve the laptop computer that he had used to previously disable The Foundation's cameras.

Madeline didn't even try to hide the blush that spread across her face like a wild fire, making a quiet squeak, which drew Amelia's attention.

_Oh, my God! Maddie's got a crush on Iggy!_ she thought to herself, her face breaking out into a gleaming smile. _How did I not notice this? _

"Stop giving me that look, Melie!" Madeline whispered to her twin sister, fussing with her glasses as she sucked nervously on her bottom lip.

"No way! When this is all over, I'm going to give you _such _a hard time about this," the sandy blonde giggled, trying to regain her composure as the others started to give her looks.

"Alright...," Arthur muttered slowly, drawing everyone's attention away from the two sisters, " I've found agent Russia, and he's with the Commissioner...But, who's that girl?"

"Girl?" came the confused murmur of the others, all crowding around the laptop.

Katyusha let out a stifled gasp, a hand flying to her mouth in absolute shock. "T-That's...That's my sister...W-What is Natasha doing here?!" she whispered out in a horrified tone, her light blue eyes wide with fear for her youngest sibling.

Amelia's breath hissed out between her teeth as she made a noise of frustration and anger. "That bastard...He's using her as a hostage, so Ivan won't be able to do anything to him without the threat of his sister getting hurt in the crossfire," she muttered, clenching her hand into a tight fist. "We gotta get ahead of them, cut 'em off somehow...Iggy, is there a way we can take that'll get us ahead of where they're going?" she asked, turning to the golden blonde Englishman.

Arthur glanced down at the laptop for a brief moment, accessing a layout for the entire headquarters. "Yes...This way!" he said, opening the door that led out of the weapons room and gesturing down the hall.

* * *

><p>Kiku waited silently for the approaching footsteps to get closer, his back pressed up against the cold, metal wall as he raised his gun up just so that its muzzle was grazing the edge of his jaw. He breathed in deeply through his nose as a warbly voice said something in an amused tone, the footsteps practically upon him now. Smoothly stepping away from the wall, he calmly raised his gun to aim at the old man that was walking a few steps behind agent Russia, the trio coming to an abrupt halt at his appearance.<p>

The older man barely seemed fazed by agent Japan's sudden appearance or the fact that there was a gun being aimed right at him.

"Release the woman, and hand over your weapon," Kiku demanded in a soft voice, his dull brown eyes hard as he slowly approached the Commissioner.

Mortimer let out a rasping laugh, not complying with agent Japan's orders.

"What are you doing?" Ivan hissed, narrowing his eyes at the Japanese man.

Kiku didn't take his eyes off of the Commissioner, his mouth held in a thin line. "You clearly could not handle this by yourself, and I have my own reasons for wanting this man dead," he replied bluntly.

"Ah, yes. Agent Japan, I presume? Or, would you prefer Kiku Honda? I honestly don't care what name you go by, as you shall have none once you are dead and buried, you traitor," Mortimer coughed, his breath wheezing through his chest.

Ivan's eyes widened a fraction in surprise as he noticed three other figures quickly coming up behind Kiku, agent Japan still unaware of them. "Behind you-" Ivan tried to warn him, but it came a split second too late.

Kiku's eyes shot open in shock as he was shot in the back, the pain rushing in a few seconds after the fact as he crumpled to the ground.

"Are you alright, sir?" an older woman with vibrant red hair asked, lowering her older model gun as she bent down to check if Kiku was still conscious.

"Yes, of course," Mortimer replied in an almost irritated tone, waving off the woman's concerns. "Agent Russia, meet agents Summer, Spring, and Fall; the last remaining of the four Seasons, since Winter was eliminated," he said in a smug voice, indicating each agent as he introduced them.

The youngest of the three, agent Spring, let out a soft gasp, her dyed green hair flowing around her round face as she jerked her head in surprise. "Nikolai's dead?" she asked, her big, golden yellow eyes standing out brightly against her dark skin.

"You did not inform us of this," agent Fall drawled out, turning half-masted grey eyes to the Commissioner in what could have been an accusatory look, but it was hard to tell when he didn't have much of an expression on his pale face.

"He was a traitor; he got what he deserved," Mortimer spat, giving the three agents warning looks. "Now, I want you three behind me; I have a feeling we're about to have more company," he ordered, sliding a contemptuous look at Ivan.

There was only a hint of hesitation as the three agents got situated where the Commissioner wanted them to be, only agent Spring glancing down to where Kiku was collapsed on the floor, a pool of blood steadily eating up the pristine floor underneath him.

"Now, you two, on your knees with your hands behind your head," he ordered harshly to Ivan and Natalia, motioning for agents Summer and Fall to take aim at agent Russia, while Spring was to keep her weapon trained on Natalia.

Natalia glared at the Commissioner as he pushed her into place, almost barking an insult at the older man, but thinking better of it. She lifted her hands to lace them behind her head, her dark blue eyes wandering over to the man next to her. _He...looks like he could be the boy in the pictures...And he knew my name...So, unless this was all rehearsed by that poor excuse of a man, he might be telling the truth about being my brother_, she thought to herself, her attention deviating from Ivan as another group of people charged into the hallway.

Amelia came to a sliding stop as she saw agent Japan lying in a pool of blood on the floor in front of her, her blue eyes raising to see Ivan and his sister being held at gunpoint by the Commissioner and several other agents she'd never seen before. _Damn it! We got here too late..._

"Kiku!" Yao screamed, running to his younger brother's side, quickly checking for a pulse as he looked at the wound in Kiku's lower back, a relieved sob escaping him when he felt that his brother still had a pulse.

"I suggest you throw down your weapons...Unless you want to face the same fate as agent Japan," Mortimer hummed, a wide smile on his face.

"You won't kill us, that doesn't serve your purposes...Don't listen to him, stand your ground!" Ivan shouted, baring his teeth in anger at the Commissioner.

The old man whipped his gun around, slamming it into Natalia's temple.

Katyusha let out a short cry, tears spilling down her cheeks and over her fingers as she covered her mouth with her hands.

Ivan resisted the urge to catch Natalia as she hit the ground, his entire body tensed as he was reminded of the two guns aimed at his head.

"I don't like being underestimated, agent Russia," Mortimer hissed, his eyes blazing dangerously. "Disarm yourselves now, or I will actually shoot her next time."

"Amelia...What do we do?" Madeline asked in a hushed tone.

Amelia clenched her teeth as she tried to think of a way out of this, only one thing coming to her mind. "Alright...Alright, we'll drop our weapons, but you have to send her over here first," she demanded, hoping to gain a better opportunity for Ivan to strike at the Commissioner as she bought some time.

Ivan narrowed his eyes, seeing that Amelia was buying time for him; otherwise, he knew there was no other way she would give up so easily.

The Commissioner scratched at his chin in thought for a moment, nodding his head slightly and gesturing for the three agents to go along with what Amelia had proposed. "The three of you have cuffs with you, yes?" he asked agent Summer as he brought his gun over to aim at Ivan, making sure he didn't try anything.

"Yes...You told us to bring some when you contacted us," she replied in a hushed tone, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Once you've handed over the girl and they've given up their arms, cuff them to that pipe over there," he muttered in a low tone, moving his head to indicate a pipe that ran along the wall to their right. "But, leave agent America free...I still have some use for her at the moment," he added.

Agent Summer gave a hesitant nod, following after agents Fall and Spring as they carefully brought Natalia's limp body over to the group of rogue agents.

"Now, uphold your end of the deal," Mortimer barked, pressing the muzzle of his weapon harder against the side of Ivan's head.

"You can't be serious about this, Amelia!" Arthur hissed, trying to make eye contact with the younger woman.

"Just trust me," Amelia whispered back, dropping her weapon and ammo without another word.

The others hesitated for a moment before following suit, all eyes watching Amelia for some hint as to what she was thinking.

Katyusha immediately rushed over to Natalia, worriedly fluttering about as she tried to wake her sister.

"I'm sorry for this, but we must handcuff you now. Please, don't resist," agent Summer said in a sympathetic tone, pulling out a set of handcuffs from her jacket.

"What? You can't expect us to-" Francis started to retort, but was cut off by a sharp look from agent Fall.

"This is in your best interest, do not interfere," he stated bluntly, roughly cuffing Francis to the pipe.

"We're trying to help you," agent Spring whispered, gently cuffing Madeline next to Francis, apologizing the entire time.

"Why should we trust you? You're the Commissioner's personal agents," Arthur huffed, not listening to agent Fall's advice to not resist.

"Agent Winter was one of us; his death, and why he was terminated, is something we care about deeply. You have no reason to trust us, but you _have_ to if you want this to work," agent Summer said, looking intently at Amelia.

When the three agents finished handcuffing the rest of the group, they remained where they were, awaiting further orders from the Commissioner. Amelia was surprised when she wasn't cuffed as well, but she didn't dwell on it long when Mortimer forced Ivan back to his feet, pulling another gun from a holster by his right hip and shoving it into the Russian's hands.

"Now, prove to me that all your training has been a success! _Kill her_," Mortimer ordered, lowering his own weapon as he waited for Ivan to act.

"No, Amelia!" Arthur shouted, struggling against the handcuffs that were restraining him, ignoring how the cold metal bit into his wrists. He couldn't remember if Amelia had gotten a vest, he hadn't seen her put one on.

Ivan's amethyst eyes shifted from Mortimer, to the gun, and then to Amelia; his jaw clenched and his hand tightened so hard against the weapon that it shook.

"Did you hear me?! I said, kill her!" the Commissioner yelled, a crazed look in his eyes.

Amelia looked desperately at Ivan, their gazes locking for a split second. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. _Do it_, she thought.

Ivan's face remained blank as he aimed the gun at Amelia, only a flash of hesitation showing on his face as he fired.

The shot echoed through the hallway, and the group watched in stunned silence as Amelia fell backwards. She didn't get back up.

Madeline stared at her sister's limp body in horrified shock, tears running freely down her face.

"How could you do that?! She trusted you, she - she _loved_ you!" Arthur yelled, his voice cracking slightly. He continued to try and free himself from the handcuffs, his face flushed with unbridled rage. Unshed tears stung at his emerald eyes, but he refused to let them fall.

"Amelia...," Francis whispered under his breath, unable to look at her unmoving body.

Katyusha let out a sob, hiding her tear-stained face.

John Mortimer grinned, a dry chuckle rising in his throat. His bony shoulders shook as his laughter built in hysteria. "Perfect, _perfect_! You are ready! I can finally carry out my plan...I will finally be in control of this broken and corrupt country, finally be able to _fix_ it, and be acknowledged as the hero of the people that I am!" he crowed, his milky eyes sparkling with the feeling of finally accomplishing his dream.

Ivan turned to face the Commissioner, his face still an emotionless mask. He shifted his aim to the old man, pulling back on the trigger. He smirked. _Got you._

Ivan froze as another shot tore through the hallway, not coming from his gun, and stumbled back a few steps.

The Commissioner turned his dark smile onto Ivan, his expression one of disappointment. "Did you _really _think that I couldn't see through you? My, my, my...You certainly have lost your touch, agent Russia. It's awfully unfortunate; I do hate to throw away such a...helpful weapon," he tutted, as if to a child.

Ivan stared wordlessly at the growing patch of red on his stomach. He dropped to his knees, clutching at the wound in silent pain. He struggled to comprehend what had just happened, the gun slipping from his lax grasp. His vision flashed into black as the Commissioner slowly walked over to him, and he collapsed onto his side.


	30. Finality

Amelia opened her eyes just enough to see what was happening. She felt a swell of anticipation in her chest as she saw Ivan turn toward the Commissioner. _Yes, we've got this!_

Then the second gunshot blasted in her ears.

_That wasn't from Ivan's gun..._, she thought, watching in mounting horror as Ivan stumbled back. _No...no, no, no! This isn't what's supposed to happen!_ Amelia screamed in her head as Ivan collapsed. She willed herself to remain still, rage building up in her as the Commissioner shuffled over to Ivan's prone form.

"What a disappointment. My weapon has been reduced to nothing but a bleeding heart. Do you still feel enough...to satisfy me?" Mortimer asked in a sadistic purr, kicking Ivan onto his back and digging his boot into the Russian's wound.

Ivan's eyes shot open as Mortimer twisted his heel into the wound, his mouth parted in silent pain.

"Ah, so you're still among the living!" Mortimer exclaimed happily, removing his bloodied boot from the Russian's abdomen. The old man chuckled. "You're a rather pathetic sight right now, but I'm willing to offer you a deal," he said, a benevolent tone in his voice. "I'll save your life, and the lives of the other rogue agents...if you return to working for me. It's a fair bargain, wouldn't you say?" the Commissioner hummed, an expectant look on his wrinkled face.

Amethyst eyes burned with hatred as Ivan spat blood at the old man, blood dribbling from a corner of his mouth. "_Never_," he snarled out, pressing a hand to his stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding as he forced himself to stand, leaning heavily against the wall for support.

The Commissioner frowned. "Pity." He raised his own gun to aim at Ivan again, planning to finish off the injured rogue agent himself.

Amelia couldn't help but twitch at the self-satisfied tone in Mortimer's voice as he turned his gun on Ivan, her eyes pressing shut again as she tried to keep up the facade of death.

Agent Summer caught the subtle movement from Amelia, her lips forming a small grin as she figured out what Amelia was doing. She carefully slipped the key that unlocked the handcuffs from her sleeve, having secreted it there when the Commissioner wasn't looking. Catching agent Spring and agent Fall's eyes, she gave them both a quick nod, motioning for them to be ready to release the other agents when she gave the signal.

"I'm afraid it's time for you to meet your end, agent Russia," Mortimer said in a casual tone, his finger teasing the trigger with light pressure.

"No...Meet _yours_," Amelia shouted, bolting up from where she had been on the ground, training her gun on the Commissioner, her expression steely.

John Mortimer recoiled, staring at Amelia in bewildered shock. "No...No...You're dead...You died before my very eyes...This is a trick...You can't fool me! You _won't _get away with ruining my plans, agent Russia!" he muttered in a hushed tone, his voice getting louder as he turned his attention back to Ivan.

"Amelia! Oh, God, you're alive!" Madeline cried out, wishing she could run up and embrace her twin.

Arthur stood, stunned, his mouth parted slightly. His previously red face paled considerably, now livid with relieved anger. "Don't you _ever _bloody do that again, you yank! You had me scared half to death about you!" he yelled, tears finally breaking through and filling his eyes.

Francis let out a relieved sigh, looking at Amelia to make sure that what he saw was real. Katyusha was still sobbing, but it sounded more relieved than terrified now. Yao breathed in through his nose slowly, seeing that Amelia was alright now, his worried eyes shifting back to Kiku.

"I will not lose...I _can't _lose! This world is so corrupt, I'm the only one that can see it...the only one who can set it right! I am justice, I am in the right here - not you!" the Commissioner babbled, his eyes darting around for some sort of escape as he backed away.

"You don't deserve to live. With all the families and lives you've destroyed, I won't let you get away - who in their right mind would let you go unpunished? It's time for you to pay your debts, old man, with your own blood this time," Amelia said in a deathly low tone of voice, her sapphire blue eyes cold and hard as she unloaded her entire round of bullets into the Commissioner.

The old man let out a despaired cry before he crumpled to the ground in an unmoving heap, his glassy eyes staring up at the ceiling blankly. The gun clattered from his hand as he hit the ground; his gnarled, arthritic fingers unfurling from their usual curled form as his muscles relaxed in death.

Dropping her gun to the floor without another thought, Amelia ran over to Ivan as he slid down the wall and back down to the floor, his eyes drifting shut. "Oh, God...Ivan...," she whispered in a hushed voice, falling to her knees next to the Russian.

"It's over," agent Summer breathed, giving a nod to agents Spring and Fall as she started to uncuff Yao and Katyusha.

Yao immediately rushed back over to Kiku, muttering prayers under his breath in Chinese. Katyusha was clearly torn between staying with the still unconscious Natalia, or going to her injured brother. She rocked back and forth with Natalia pulled into her lap, her tears beginning to ebb off.

"No, no, you can't go to sleep now! C'mon, stay awake, Ivan!" Amelia cried, ignoring the tears that were spilling onto her cheeks. "We won, we won...But it won't mean anything if you aren't here with me, damn it!"

Ivan's eyes blinked open slowly, looking at Amelia blearily. "Amelia...You're okay," he slurred out, letting out a relieved exhalation through his nose. "I thought you were gone," he mumbled, obviously teetering on the brink of unconsciousness.

"I'm fine, I'm right here. You can't get rid of me that easily," Amelia murmured, taking a quick glance at the gunshot wound. She closed her eyes momentarily, biting her bottom lip. "You're gonna be fine, alright? W-We're all gonna get outta here, and we're gonna get you and Kiku fixed up, and-and...You can't die on me after all this, Ivan!" she choked out, furiously wiping at her face to try and dispel the hot tears that ran down her cheeks.

"God...what the hell happened here?!" Ludwig muttered as he and Feliciano ran up to the bloody scene, his jaw clenching when he saw agent China hovering over Kiku, the older man fussing over a wound in the Japanese man's lower back.

Feliciano rushed over to Kiku's side as soon as he saw his injured friend, blubbering loudly in an attempt to wake him up.

"You need to get them to the medical wing...We will take care of the explosives," agent Fall mumbled, hefting the duffel bag without any outward sign that he cared it was full of remote-activated mines.

"What? Who are you?!" agent Germany demanded as the three agents brushed past him, heading back the way that had first come.

"Not your concern," agent Fall replied bluntly over his shoulder, not even looking back at agent Germany.

"Don't take it personally; he's like that with everyone, even us, and he's known us for a _long _time," agent Spring said in a slightly apologetic tone, following after agents Summer and Fall. "But he's right, you should get your injured to the medical wing. Neither shots hit anything vital, so you should be able to handle it, agent Germany; you _were _almost drafted by the medical sector, am I right?" she hummed, giving the blonde a wink and a wave before the three agents rounded a corner and were out of sight.

Ludwig would have liked to ask how she knew that, because _no one_ else knew about that, but the three were already gone. Running a hand quickly through his hair, recovering from his brief moment of bewilderment, he trotted over to Yao and Kiku. "We need to get him to the medical wing, alright? Can you carry him, or do you need help?" the German asked, silently assessing the damage done to his friend's back.

"I...I may need help," Yao breathed out, his head bowed.

Ludwig gave a stiff nod, standing up from his kneeled position on the floor. "Feliciano...can you help Yao take care of Kiku?" he murmured, placing a firm hand on the Italian's slight shoulder.

"Si*...Si, I can do that," Feliciano replied in a watery voice, the younger man looking to Yao for an indication on what he should be doing to help.

"Alright, I'll leave it to you two, then...," the blonde man rumbled out, taking one glance back at them before he headed over to where Amelia was sobbing over Ivan.

"You can't die on me, you big jerk! We...we finally got this all figured out, and I'm not gonna let you back out just 'cause of a little fuck up, 'kay?!" Amelia said in a wavering tone, her hands fisting into Ivan's shirt, her glistening eyes locked onto the spot of red that continued to spread over the Russian's middle. "Don't leave me...," she whispered.

Ludwig carefully approached Amelia, his sharp blue eyes going over the Russian's wound. "Amelia...The wound itself isn't life-threatening, but unless we move him to the medical wing, he _will_ bleed out," he said in a stern, but soft, tone. "Agent France, I'm going to need your assistance," Ludwig ordered, not looking over at the Frenchman as he focused on slowly and carefully getting the Russian up off the floor. It was a bit more difficult to do, since Ivan was taller and heavier than Ludwig, but he managed it without any help.

Francis hurried over after making sure Katyusha and Natalia were okay, easing some of the Russian's dead weight onto himself as he slung one of Ivan's arms over his shoulders. "Is it bad?" he asked, glancing momentarily at the bloody wound before looking over at Ludwig.

"It's...fixable," the German replied in a low tone, keeping one hand pressed to the wound as he supported Ivan in much the same way as Francis. "But we need to move both of them to the medical wing, and get their wounds treated as soon as possible," he continued, his mouth held in a thin line. It had been quite a while since he'd practiced any sort of surgery, so he only hoped that the skills hadn't left him over the years.

Amelia was right beside Francis as the group made their way to the medical sector, her eyes not leaving Ivan for a moment. The Russian wasn't unconscious, but he didn't look completely there either; his eyes were half-lidded and hazy, blood mixing with sweat on his skin as shock started to take over his body. The sandy blonde woman nibbled on her bottom lip anxiously, rubbing her hands together in an effort to rid them of the blood that had caked onto them. She jumped when she felt arms move around her, Amelia glancing away from Ivan hesitantly to see Madeline hugging her tightly.

"I thought you were dead, Melie...D-Don't ever do that again, eh...," Madeline whispered, not letting up with the tight embrace, even though it made walking rather awkward.

Amelia sniffed, returning the hug with ferocity. "I-I'm sorry, Maddie, but I didn't have another plan. But, it's over now...We can all move on from this, and finally _live _our lives, not just survive," she sighed, a small smile breaking out on her face.

Madeline let out a soft chuckle, which almost turned into a relieved sob. "I'm glad this didn't change you; you're still an optimist at heart, Melie. I don't know if I would've been that strong in your place, but, then again, I'm not the hero," she said, returning her twin's smile.

"Alright, this is the place. Set Kiku down on his stomach, not his back, and keep pressure on the wound while I get some supplies. Yao, you know how to clean out a wound, yes? Do that until I can come over there and start working on him," Ludwig ordered in a commanding tone, helping Francis ease Ivan onto one of the sterile white beds before he ran over to a locked cabinet on the other side of the room. Smashing the glass cabinet open, since he didn't have the key to unlock it properly, Ludwig quickly gathered a handful of bottles. With the painkillers in hand, he searched for several other necessary items before coming back to the group.

"I need someone to administer the morphine while I get the bullet out and seal up the wound, can anyone do that?" he asked, already filling a needle up with the liquid painkiller.

"I-I can do it...," a shaky voice spoke up; a wobbly Natalia was standing nearby. She had woken up during the short trip over to the infirmary, but she didn't feel confident enough in her motor skills at the time to start walking by herself, so she kept quiet. "Nikolai taught me how to do this...Though, I will admit, it was for a different purpose," she added, thinking back to when the older man had shown her how to use a hypodermic needle to inject a fast-acting toxin into a person as self-defense.

"Are you sure, Natasha? Y-You look a bit unsteady still," Katyusha pointed out timidly, worrying her bottom lip.

"I'm _fine_," Natalia stressed in a stern tone, "I can do this. I wasn't much help throughout this entire ordeal - if anything, I made it more difficult - so at least let me do this." Stubbornly making her way over to Ludwig, who handed her the needle so that he could prepare for removing the bullet, she carefully injected the painkiller into Kiku's bloodstream; her hands were steady as she concentrated on her task.

"Very good...Thank you," Ludwig muttered, grabbing a pair of small tweezers. Taking a breath to center himself, he slowly pushed the metal object into the wound on the Japanese man's back, almost immediately hitting the bullet. "It didn't go very deep, so this shouldn't be too bad an injury to recover from," he said, glancing up to an anxious looking Yao. Bringing his attention back to his unconscious friend, he started to retrieve the bullet. Blood coughed up from the small wound as the tweezers pulled back from it, Ludwig quickly pressing a small hand towel to the wound to soak up the blood, the bit of metal that was the bullet held firmly between the two arms of the tweezers. Placing the tweezers and bullet away, Ludwig set about stitching the wound and bandaging it.

"He should be fine for now, but keep an eye on him still, just in case," the German sighed in relief, wiping blood from his hands.

"Thank you for doing this for my brother, I am in your debt," Yao murmured.

"You owe me nothing...He is my friend, I would not hesitate to help him in any way I could," Ludwig replied sternly, moving from his seat by the bed so that the older Asian man could take it. Pausing for a moment to get clean tools, he went over to Ivan. Seeing Amelia's tearful, worried expression, and how she was desperately clinging onto the Russian's hand, moved Ludwig to place a firm hand on the American's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "He's strong, and this injury isn't as bad as it looks to the eye. Why don't you go sit down with the others, rest for a while," he suggested in a calm voice.

"No! What if...what if something goes wrong? I'm not leaving him," Amelia said in a low tone, her grip tightening on Ivan's hand.

"_Nothing_ will go wrong, I promise you," he replied, moving around to the other side of the bed to get ready. "It's just that...most people don't want to watch someone else being cut open, especially when it's someone they care for deeply..."

Amelia hesitated for a minute, licking her dry lips. "As much as I don't really want to watch it happen, I want to _be here_ for him," she said, a determined look coming onto her face.

Ludwig muffled a sigh, accepting defeat on the subject. "Alright, but if you need to get up and leave, it's perfectly acceptable," he told her, carefully shifting Ivan's shirt up so that he could work on the wound. After inspecting it, he concluded that he was going to have to make an incision in the wound, making it larger and giving him more room to search for the bullet, which had gone further in than the one with Kiku.

"Ahem...Madeline, may I speak with you for a moment?" Arthur asked, looking somewhat uncomfortable as he approached the strawberry blonde.

The younger woman's head snapped to face him so quickly he feared she'd hurt herself. "Of course, eh!" she blurted out in that quietly excited way of hers, following after the Brit when he motioned for them to move to a more secluded part of the room.

Clearing his throat and fussing with his collar, Arthur paced for a few seconds before forcing himself to a halt. "Listen...I've been...getting _vibes_ from you, and I don't know how to best say this to you - especially at a time like this," he started out, tapping his foot restlessly against the white tiles of the floor.

Madeline could have sworn that she felt her heart stop, her pulse rushing absurdly loud in her ears, blocking out whatever Arthur had continued to say. Flushing a brilliant red, she stammered out, "I-I'm sorry...What did you say?"

Arthur looked rather put out at having to repeat himself, but he gathered up his will and did so. "I...I really am sorry to say this to you, Madeline, but I...don't return whatever romantic feelings you hold for me. I see you and Amelia as...as _sisters_, and to even try to attempt a romantic relationship with you would only end in heartache and broken feelings," he said in a halting voice, watching as the younger woman's face went through an emotional array of collapse.

This time, Madeline was positive she felt her heart stop.

"I understand if you feel hurt, and if you hate me as well, I'm prepared to deal with that, too. But, I want you to know, I will always be there for you and love you as a _brother_, as _family_; nothing will change that. I'm just...I'm not the one for you, and I won't string you along when you still have the chance to find who you're really meant to be with," Arthur murmured, wanting to reach out and touch her, comfort her, but fearful of the woman's reaction.

Blinking back stinging tears and swallowing past the lump in her throat, Madeline hugged her arms to her side, refusing to look at the shaggy haired man. "I'm not going to lie, Arthur...This hurts. A lot, eh," she said in a stricken voice, taking a deep, shuddering breath. "But...I...I get what you're saying. I don't hate you, but you _have_ hurt me. I don't know if I'll ever be able to see you as just a brother, just a family member, but I certainly don't want to cut you out of my life, Arthur," she continued, letting her gaze brush across his for a brief moment before walking back over to the rest of the group.

Arthur stayed where he was, and released a pent-up sigh, deciding to let Madeline have her space from him. He didn't know who felt worse - Madeline, or himself.

Ludwig reached for a scalpel among the supplies he had taken, making a precise cut to widen the entry wound on Ivan's stomach, placing the bloodied tool back down and taking up the tweezers again.

Amelia sucked in a breath, nearly feeling sick as she inhaled the scent of blood, and watched Ludwig plunge the tweezers into the wound. But she remained where she was, determined to stick with it.

Ludwig glanced up at the American for a second, impressed that she was still there, her blue eyes trained on what was happening. Going back to his work, he muttered under his breath, "Almost there..." Slowly withdrawing the tweezers and stemming off the flow of blood with another clean towel, Ludwig was about to discard the bullet when Amelia stopped him.

"Wait, uh...I know this is gonna sound like a really weird thing to ask, but can I...keep that?" she asked in a sort of sheepish tone.

The German cocked an eyebrow at that, but he dropped the little metal object into her hand. "Just be sure to clean it if you're going to hold onto it," he said, returning to his task of stitching up the wound and wrapping bandaging around the larger man's torso. "They'll both be out for a little while, so unless those three agents set the explosives off in the next hour or so, we should be fine resting here until they come around," he commented, heading over to one of the sinks so that he could wash his hands.

Amelia nodded absently at what the other said, rolling the bloody bullet in one hand as she ran the fingers of her other hand through Ivan's short hair.

"Oh, Natasha, my poor little sister," Katyusha fussed, pulling back the younger's dark beige locks to look at the narrow gash that had been made by the Commissioner's pistol-whipping.

"Stop fussing like a mother hen, sister, I'm fine," Natalia huffed, swatting away her elder sibling's hands.

"Allow me to clean that, and bandage it," Ludwig interrupted, already moving in with a wet cloth, softly wiping away the semi-dried blood on the woman's left temple. "You're lucky you don't have a concussion, but I'm sure you'd rather this to not scar when something can be done to prevent that," he said, spraying the shallow cut with anti-septic before he placed a square bandage on it, smoothing out the rubbery, tan material with his thumb.

"Why won't anyone believe me when I say I'm fine?" Natalia sighed in frustration, giving the German a glare.

"It's not a matter of us believing you, mon cher, it's a matter of us _caring_ for your well-being," Francis piped in, coming up behind Katyusha and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"And who are _you_?" Natalia asked in a snappish tone, crossing her arms.

"Ohonhonhon! I, young lady, am your future brother-in-law!" Francis announced dramatically, planting a kiss on Katyusha's cheek.

Katyusha let out an embarrassed, but happy, squeal, shifting in the Frenchman's arms so that she could kiss him full on the mouth. "Do you mean it, Francis?" she asked breathlessly, once the kissing ebbed off a bit.

"I would never lie to you, mon amour. Once we leave this place, I intend to find the perfect ring to gift you with, and anything else you could ever want," he answered, murmuring against her lips as he started up the kissing again.

Arthur couldn't help scowling at the overzealous display, though he wasn't about to ruin the moment; a small smile forming on his face.

Natalia didn't look very amused at the thought of her sister marrying this man she knew nothing about, her face set in a scowling glare as she seethed in her seat. But, she would say nothing - for the moment, at least - since Katyusha looked happier than she'd seen her in years.

* * *

><p>Sound.<p>

It was the first thing that he noticed. Someone was humming something in his ear; it wasn't a tune he was familiar with in any way, but it was comforting all the same.

As he tried to focus on the soft notes filtering into his ears, he fuzzily registered that he could feel the heat of another body next to him, fingers carding through his hair.

Gathering up the energy to open his eyes had never felt like a more difficult task than right at that moment, colors and shapes blurring into one vague splatter of mess as his sight remained out of focus. Coughing as he tried to take a deep breath, the body next to him jolting in surprise, he managed to turn his head, the rest of his body feeling too heavy to do much with right then.

"Ivan?"

The voice was...worried? Concerned? He didn't really care about the undertones of the voice, it sounded prettier than the song that had abruptly ceased humming in his ear. Also, he was curious about this one, who was Ivan?

"Ivan? Ivan, can you hear me?"

Ivan...Was that him? Maybe it was, the voice seemed to be using the name to address him, and he felt like it was something he should react to.

Mumbling around the dry, cotton-ball sensation in his mouth, he attempted to reply, but even he didn't understand the gibberish he just spat out.

"Okay, you're really starting to freak me out, big guy..."

Flicking his tongue around his mouth, he tasted blood, but he swallowed anyway, trying to force something coherent out in answer. "S-Sorry...," was what he managed to cough up, his throat feeling raw and his voice sounding rough.

A relieved sigh sounded next to him, warm breath tickling his ear, as the body beside him relaxed again. "Whew...Don't do that, you really scared me there," the voice said, sounding slightly miffed, though it was easily covered with relief.

Ivan clumsily brought a hand up to rub at his face, mumbling out another apology as his eyesight finally started to clear up. He blinked slowly, shifting back a little when he realized that the voice's face was very close to his. "Ngh...Wha...What happened?" he asked, fuzzy memories beginning to surface in his mind.

"We're in the medical wing right now, since both you and Kiku got knocked for a loop pretty bad. Your sisters are fine, and everyone else is doin' pretty good, too. The Commissioner's _dead_, Ivan. We did it, we finally did it," the blonde woman said in a hushed, but excited tone, her face lighting up with a bright smile.

Fuzzy memories abruptly turned into clear recollections at that, Ivan lurching forward with a gasp hissing through his teeth. Pain erupted in his middle at the sudden movement, causing the Russian to hunch in on himself as searing white encroached on his sight. Ignoring the throbbing discomfort in his gut, Ivan shifted closer to Amelia, studying her intently. "Amelia...You're alright," he breathed out, bringing his arm around her and pulling her closer to himself.

Amelia let out a quiet laugh, making sure to be careful of the Russian's wound. "I'm fine, Red, just a big bruise and some scrapes. _I_ was wearing a bulletproof vest, 'cause heroes are all about safety, unlike _you_. How're you feeling, huh? We've got some more painkillers, if you need 'em," she mentioned, worry working its way back onto her face and into her voice.

Ivan took a deep breath, a twinge of pain letting itself be known as he did so, taking a while to answer as he thought. "'M thirsty...," he mumbled in a low tone, resting his chin on Amelia's head.

"Alrighty! One water, comin' up!" Amelia said exuberantly, attempting to get up. When Ivan didn't release her, his arm still hugging her to his chest, she shook her head in amusement. "Buddy Bear, you kinda have to let me go if you want that drink," she cooed in a soft voice, trying to ease out of the embrace.

"Mmhmm," Ivan hummed sleepily, not letting the blonde go.

After several more attempts of squirming around enough to get free, Amelia finally managed to slip out of the embrace and off the bed. Giving Ivan a slightly huffy look, which was returned with a goofy smile from the Russian, she walked off in search of a cup or glass for water.

Shifting onto his back, Ivan stifled a groan; he trailed a hand down his stomach, his thick fingers brushing gingerly over partially bloodied bandages. At the sound of footsteps, Ivan looked up from the wound in his middle, a small smile coming to his face as Katyusha and Natalia made their way over to him.

"Oh, baby brother, you're okay! We were so worried!" Katyusha burst out, happy tears brimming in her light blue eyes. She let out a relieved cry as she wrapped her arms around her younger brother's neck, bringing him close to her chest in an awkward standing hug.

Ivan's face flushed a bit when his cheek was smooshed against his sister's large bosom in her enthusiasm. He awkwardly returned the embrace, though with some hesitation - he didn't know where he was supposed to place his hands, so he just looped his arms around her in a loose hug.

A short cough grabbed both of their attention as they ended the embrace, Natalia shuffling in place off to the side. "I'm...afraid we were never properly introduced," she said, trying to keep her facial expression stern and straight, though her bottom lip wobbled suspiciously.

Ivan's smile softened as he glanced over at his younger sister; he had few memories of her, since they were both very young when they were separated, but what he did remember of her were good memories. "Natasha...," he murmured.

Tears welled in cerulean eyes and spilled onto snow white cheeks, Natalia lunging forward with a watery sob to be embraced by both of her older siblings. "Big brother...Brother...," she cried, her voice no more than a whisper as she clung to her siblings.

Yao and Kiku were having their own family experience, the elder brother chastising the younger between his relieved bouts of tears. "Stupid little brother! Always getting into things that you're told not to get into! Stupid, stupid, my stupid...stupid, idiot brother...," Yao huffed out, caught somewhere in between smacking the younger man and just wanting to hold onto him forever.

Kiku remained silent, dutifully taking his sibling's worried, rambling lectures as he had always done when he was little. "I am sorry to have caused you to worry so much, brother...It was not my intention; I only wished to make up to you the sacrifices you have made for me and our other siblings, I wanted to do the right thing," he explained, once Yao had paused to draw breath.

"Have you not been listening, idiot brother?" Yao sighed, shaking his head with a light chuckle. "They were not sacrifices to me, I was simply doing what was needed for my family, aru."

The relative quiet of the room was broken when the door opened, everyone looking up in surprise as agents Summer, Spring, and Fall entered.

"Ah, good, you're all still here," agent Summer hummed in a pleased tone, flashing a smile.

"Is there a problem? I would have expected you three to be gone by now," Arthur grumbled, eyeing them warily.

"The explosives are all ready to be detonated, but we figured you guys would want to do the honors!" agent Spring chirped.

"Yes, but we also wanted to tell you that we've informed the government about everything that's been going on these past years since the supposed scrapping of The Foundation and the Human Weapon experiment. The President has been briefed on everything that we could gather from the database here, and he wants to meet with your group, so that he can get your side of things and help you settle down somewhere as citizens without too much political hoopla. He plans on doing so for every former Foundation agent, if they want the aid. We are tasked with finding and getting into contact with all the scattered ex-agents, so this will probably be the last you see of us," agent Summer continued, crossing her tanned arms over her chest.

"The explosives should destroy everything here, but the blast shouldn't cause any damage to the surface; it will feel like an earthquake to people up top, at the most," agent Fall mumbled out, lingering near the doorway in an almost impatient manner.

"Yup! So, once you guys go to the top level and get transportation out of the headquarters, you'll be all set to start over!" Spring giggled, delicately placing the remote detonator on a table before waggling her fingers in farewell and skipping after the other two agents as they left once again.

Silence dominated the room once more, everyone looking about at each other in disbelief.

"Ahem...Well, I suppose we'd best get a move on, then," Arthur cleared his throat, the first to recover from the sudden information.

"Yes, we'll get everything together that we need from here, and then head to level two for our transportation needs," Ludwig said, already gathering more supplies from the room so that he could treat Kiku and Ivan's injuries while they traveled.

Amelia trotted back over to Ivan, a plastic cup clutched in her hand. "Okay, since we're gonna be headin' out soon, chug this down and then we'll see if you can walk by yourself, 'kay?" she said in a rushed tone of voice, pressing the peach colored cup into the Russian's large hand before running off to help the others get things together.

Ivan complied, guzzling down the lukewarm tap water without a second thought. Wincing as he got up, he kept a hand on the metal railing at the foot of the bed, feeling woozy and rather unsteady. Just standing up made him feel like he'd had the wind knocked out of him, but he was determined to walk out of The Foundation's headquarters under his own power.

Yao was hovering over Kiku as the raven haired man stood up, helping his brother walk despite the other's protests.

Once everyone had gotten together everything they thought they would need, the group slowly made its way to level two. Since they couldn't all fit together in one vehicle, they split up into two different cars before leaving The Foundation for good.

After driving a safe distance away, just in case the explosion was larger than they were expecting, they all got out of the vehicles and prepared for the detonation.

"So, how do we wanna do this?" Amelia asked in a breathy tone, looking around at the others.

"Oh, I know! Why don't we have Ivan press the button, while we have some of us with our hands on his shoulders and the rest with their hands on those people's shoulders? It'll be like we're all doing it!" Feliciano burst out happily, grinning widely.

"That's...actually not a bad idea," Ludwig admitted in a somewhat surprised tone.

"Very symbolic," Kiku added, nodding his head in agreement.

Amelia grinned as well, shoving the remote detonator into Ivan's hands. "Alright, let's go with that! Everyone get in here, like a huddle, 'kay?" she hummed enthusiastically, sidling up to the Russian's side as she placed a hand on his arm.

The others followed suit, everyone getting as close as they could. Francis placed a hand on Ivan's left shoulder, and Katyusha immediately hugged onto the Frenchman's free arm. Natalia stood behind her sister, resting her hand on Katyusha's shoulder. Feliciano practically latched onto Amelia's right arm, Ludwig firmly gripping the Italian's forearm. Kiku placed the flat of his palm against Ludwig's back, while both Yao and Arthur set their hands on the Japanese man's slender shoulders. Madeline had wanted to be next to Amelia for this, but since Feliciano was already cheerfully by her twin's side, she decided to position herself right behind Ivan, resting her hand on his right shoulder.

Ivan paused as everyone settled into place, his thumb hovering over the button. He almost couldn't believe that this was all happening, that everything was finally over. He had spent the majority of his life working towards this moment, but, now that it was actually happening, he felt slightly overwhelmed by the gravity of it all. He felt a reassuring squeeze on his arm, drawing his attention to Amelia.

"This is all you, Ivan," she whispered, smiling up at him dazzlingly.

Without any further hesitation, Ivan pressed the button, leaning down to kiss Amelia as he did.

The ground shook for a brief moment, and from their close proximity, they could actually hear the explosion. But, after the tremor ran its course, all was silent again. There was a simultaneous release of breath from the group, everyone relaxing as the detonation went off without a hitch.

Amelia smiled against the kiss, her face feeling pleasantly warm as they pulled away for air. "There's something I need to tell you and your sisters...I promised someone that I'd do this, and I never break a promise," she said in a hushed voice, pulling Ivan over to Katyusha and Natalia.

Taking a deep breath, Amelia started, "Nikolai never told you two how your mother really died the night you were all separated," she gestured at Katyusha and Natalia, taking her time with this, "And there are quite a few other things that he never mentioned to you three as well, besides what happened that night..."

After carefully going over everything that Nikolai Zima had imparted to her, not leaving a single part out, she gave the three siblings time to let the information sink in. Katyusha was surprisingly stoic throughout the whole thing, allowing Natalia to sob into her neck as she held Ivan's hand in a death grip, clearly trying to appear strong for her younger siblings. Ivan had a heart-breaking, lost puppy dog expression on his face as he listened to everything Amelia said; he didn't cry, but his breathing was shaky and shallow, like he was holding the feeling back with all he had.

"He really did love you guys, no matter what he may have said or how he acted," Amelia murmured, wiping at her eyes and sniffing a bit, emotions weighing heavily on her.

"Why didn't...he ever tell me?" Ivan asked in a quiet voice, running his free hand through his short beige hair.

Amelia took a breath and cleared her throat, giving a wobbly, consoling smile. "He didn't want to hurt you as your father; he thought it would be better if you hated him for what he did to you as an agent of The Foundation, and not your dad. He was trying to protect you the best he could," she replied placing her hand on his knee and rubbing it with her thumb.

"But I _wouldn't_ have!" Ivan blurted out, choking as he fought to keep his emotions in check. "If I had known...I wouldn't hate him...I _don't_ hate him...," he finished in a small voice, hiding his face in his hand. He swayed a little where he sat, tears dripping down his flushed cheeks, though he tried to hold them back.

Amelia immediately brought him into a tight hug, rocking her body back and forth with his. She cooed softly into his ear, waiting for his hiccoughing breaths to slow down as she rubbed slow circles into his back. After a while, Ivan calmed down and took a shuddering breath, his face a dull red and his cheeks tear-stained.

"I can't...even remember the last time I cried," he muttered, wiping his face on his sleeve.

"Aside from that night, when...when mother was killed, I remember you crying because mother put your teddy bear in the wash by accident. The poor thing was all chewed up and sopping wet, but you still clung onto it like a life line," Katyusha spoke up, her tears finally spilling over and onto her cheeks. "But that's only what I last remember...I don't know what happened with you once we were separated."

After several more minutes, everyone trying to regain their composure to some degree, the four of them returned to the rest of the group.

"So...What do we do now, eh?" Madeline inquired, rummaging through her pack until she unearthed her stuffed polar bear, Kumajirou. After everything that had just happened, she felt like she could use his comforting effects.

Amelia smiled, leaning up against Ivan. "We start over," she stated in a confident tone, looking up to the clear, sapphire blue skies above them

* * *

><p>Si: "Yes" <strong>in Italian<strong>


	31. Epilogue - Blue Skies Ahead

Amelia smiled brightly as they drove up to the diner, parking into the small lot in the back. It seemed like forever since they had first come here, even if it had only been a five years. The restaurant didn't look too different, maybe a little more worn here and there, but, ultimately, it was exactly as she remembered it. "Man, it hasn't changed one bit! I hope they got rid of that creepy clown, though," she laughed, unbuckling her seat-belt excitedly.

Ivan chuckled, shaking his head slightly.

"What? I don't want the kids to get scared!" Amelia huffed, sticking out her tongue.

"They are fascinated with their feet, I don't think they'll even notice it. Too bad you can't do the same thing," Ivan snickered, getting out of the car before Amelia could hit him.

"Laugh it up, big guy, but I happen to know a certain someone who isn't too fond of spiders," Amelia shot back in a smug tone, wriggling her fingers in a way that was meant to mimic a spider.

The Russian choked on his laughter for a moment, his face going red as he frowned. "That's a legitimate fear! Not only are they poisonous, they're just downright _creepy_...With their legs, and their eyes, and...and...Stop giving me that look, I know what that look means!" Ivan protested, shooting the blonde an accusatory glare as he opened up the back door to get the twins out of their car seats. "It isn't as ridiculous as being afraid of clowns. I'm more likely to be bit by a killer spider than you are of being killed by a sociopathic clown with a hatchet."

"You don't know that for sure! Were you not paying attention to that movie we watched? The clowns are _evil_, pure evil! It's totally possible for that to happen, and you can't just squish a murderous carny like you can a spider," Amelia retorted, shuddering as she recalled the horror movie that they had seen just a few days ago. "But don't worry, so long as you protect me from psycho clowns, I'll kill spiders for you," she added in a teasing tone, verging on baby talk.

"Just...help me with the twins, will you?" Ivan sighed, fumbling with the safety belt on one of the car seats.

Amelia giggled, but she complied without another word toward the "Psycho Clown VS Killer Spider" discussion. "Jeez, Red, we've had these car seats for a year now, you should know how to get them unbuckled without asking me for help," she said, easily undoing the safety belt on one of the car seats and picking up their two-year-old son, Alexei.

"I _know_ how to do it, it just doesn't _work_," he muttered, "There's a difference..."

Amelia rolled her eyes, bouncing Alexei in her arms as the toddler started to get a little fussy. She wandered a little ways away from the car as she waited for Ivan to get their daughter, Alexandra, out of her car seat. She was about to turn back when she heard the car door shut, but a familiar bark grabbed her attention first. "Oh, my God! Tony?" she blurted out, her eyes wide with surprise as the pug dog scrambled out from behind the dumpster - much like he had done when she first found him five years ago.

The little dog let out a happy yip, jumping up excitedly at Amelia's legs.

"Man, have you been here all this time? I looked all over for you after all that stuff with The Foundation, but you had just disappeared! Aw, Mommy missed you, little guy! Yes, she did. Yes, she did," Amelia gushed, picking up the dog with one arm as she shifted her son onto her hip. "Hey, Van, look who I found!" she called in an excited tone, nearly prancing back over to her husband.

"Hm?" Ivan looked up from locking the car, shoving the keys back into his pocket before Alexandra's curious fingers could push the button to unlock it again - she'd done it before, seeming to like the noise it made when it locked and then unlocked. He took one look at the dirty little dog, and let out a groan.

"Aw, quit your bellyaching, big guy! He missed you~ And I know you missed having him around, too," Amelia said in a matter-of-fact tone, winking at the Russian.

"I think you mean having him underfoot," Ivan commented, grimacing when Amelia started to make kissy faces at the pug. "Please don't bring the dog in with us," he added quickly, following after the blonde woman as she headed towards the diner.

"But it wouldn't be a real reunion without Tony here! Don't worry, we didn't get caught the first time when we snuck him in, and we won't get caught this time either," Amelia assured him, opening the door and stepping in.

Ivan only rolled his eyes at that, trailing in after Amelia as he tried to get their two-year-old daughter to focus her attention on her stuffed toy instead of sucking on his shirt.

"You two are late," Arthur grumbled, frowning into the cup of rather questionable tea he had been presented with by their waitress.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Ivan was on diaper duty this morning, and he takes forever with it! Honestly, he's such a big baby about it, you should see him," Amelia laughed, sliding into one of the booths, sitting down next to Katyusha and across from her own sister. "You'd think the twins were manufacturing nuclear waste with how he handles it; he almost fainted from trying to hold his breath the whole time, it was ridiculous."

"Francis actually did faint once," Natalia said in a blunt voice, not even looking up from her menu as she spoke.

The Frenchman balked at the comment, crying out dramatically, "You swore you would never tell, toi petit diablotin*!"

"Men are rather funny about changing diapers," Katyusha hummed knowingly, patting her husband on the arm as he sulked. "I never understood what the big deal was. Francis is always gagging and coughing rather unnecessarily, but I have no problems at all with it."

Ivan cleared his throat, grabbing a seat at the table across from the booths. "Sorry, but I believe we're late because you took an hour getting ready in the bathroom," he said, not liking that he was being thrown under the bus by Amelia.

"Hey, I have this one weird hair that doesn't want to cooperate no matter what I do! And I so do _not_ take an hour in the bathroom," she scoffed, fussing with her hair for a moment, a frustrated pout on her face.

"Well, you're here now, so we can finally order~" Katyusha said, trying to change the topic of discussion.

"Oh, yeah! Guess who I found in the parking lot?" Amelia asked abruptly, barely containing her excitement.

"Oh, oh! Was it...Um, I can't remember what I was going to say," Feliciano blurted out, Amelia's excitement instantly making him interested.

Ludwig pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, his eyes closing as he let out a gusty sigh. "Think about your answer before you say something," he muttered. "I can't believe I took off a day from work for this..."

Feliciano turned to face his German friend, slinging his slender arm around the larger man's shoulders. "Aw, you don't mean that, Luddy! Everyone needs a break from work every now and then, especially when they do such important surgeries, like you do," the Italian man said in a cheerful tone, smiling brightly at the blonde.

Though Ludwig would never admit it out loud, Feliciano was right. It was always quite stressful at the hospital - not even factoring in the complicated surgeries he performed on a near daily basis - so it was almost nice to be immersed in this sort of chaotic, family-like atmosphere. The key word in that statement being: _almost_.

"Anyway~" Amelia chirped, bringing attention back to herself. "Look who it is! Tony!" she announced happily, cuddling the pug as he sniffed at Alexei's face curiously, making the little boy scrunch his pudgy face up and let out a somewhat disgruntled gurgle.

"You finally found him, after all this time?" Francis commented in a surprised tone, glancing at the bug-eyed canine. Those eyes still freaked him out, especially when they focused on him in that disturbingly unfocused way; they were like dead fish eyes...

"Aw, he doesn't look any different; he's still such a cute puppy dog," Katyusha cooed, scratching Tony behind the ears.

"Doggie!" Boniface, Katyusha and Francis' eldest child, beamed jubilantly, trying to reach across his mother's lap to pet the dog. He let out a little whine when he couldn't reach by himself, Katyusha picking him up and setting the boy on her lap so that he could do so before he decided to break out in a tantrum. He was certainly the couple's most demanding child right now, and with their fourth on the way, they were hoping that this was just a phase.

"That's great, Melie; I know how much you guys have been missing him, eh," Madeline piped up, smiling. "You'll have to bring him by the vet's when I'm working, I can get you a family discount on his microchipping and examination," she added, winking conspiratorialy at her twin. Since she loved animals so much, it had been an easy decision for Madeline to get training to become a veterinary assistant after they had brought down The Foundation.

Yao sighed as he looked over the menu, resigning himself to the fact that he probably wasn't going to get anything to eat anytime soon as everyone continued to talk. He looked down at his watch, frowning when he calculated that he could be late for one of his acupuncture appointments. "Aiyah...So rude," he muttered, hoping he wouldn't have to reschedule his clients because of this.

"Maybe we should order now...," Kiku suggested in his usual soft, calming voice, though he went unheard by the others because of it. He didn't really mind, he would just wait for Ludwig to get impatient with the disorder and demand that they place their orders now. _Five...Four...Three...Two...One_, he counted off in his head, a small smile coming to his face as the German man predictably did just that.

"Everyone, shut up!" the blonde man shouted, slamming his hands onto the table he was seated at - or standing at, now, since he had angrily risen to his feet.

Everyone suddenly stopped their chatter, all eyes turning toward the irate German.

"You'll all have time to make idle chit-chat later, but we've _all_ been waiting to order for at least an hour!" Ludwig growled in annoyance, his blue eyes fierce. Stopping a passing waitress, he said in a commanding voice, "Start at the end of that table, and make your way up from there. Everyone will have a minimum of _two minutes_ to get their order in, so don't waste time on indecision or you will _not_ be getting anything! No interrupting others, pay attention to when it's your turn to place your order, and please wait until everyone else has ordered before you ask to change something."

The waitress blinked in surprise as she was nudged forward, her notepad and pen held loosely in her hands. "Uh...Well, then...W-What would you like, sir?" she asked, managing to put on a smile despite her obvious confusion at what had just happened.

"Oh, do you serve pasta, by any chance?" Feliciano asked hopefully, ignorant to the others as they let out a simultaneous sigh.

* * *

><p>They all tried to get together like this as often as possible, but since they had all settled down into "civilian" lifestyles, finding the time to do so where everyone could make it was ironically hard to accomplish.<p>

Francis and Katyusha had an ever-growing family to take care of, with three - soon to be four - little children to keep track of. The two of them also run a successful restaurant, an interesting combination of cooking styles between the two resulting in high-end comfort food, which always keeps them on their toes. But they make time for friends and family often, usually calling someone up or dragging them over to their house to share in a good, home-cooked meal.

Kiku had gotten into the toy business, surprising many with his strict and domineering business management, along with his vast knowledge of action figures and other such toys and games. He was gone most of the time, traveling from place to place on business. While he isn't always there for major get-togethers or other events, he's a real hit with the kids on holidays and birthdays, bringing over souvenirs and new toys.

Madeline was working her dream job, and couldn't be happier in that regard. She's a warm and calming presence at the veterinarian hospital, and a trustworthy and hard-working volunteer at the local animal shelter. She loves to help out with caring for her twin sister's children, Alexandra and Alexei, baby-sitting them whenever she gets the chance. Madeline was still a bit shy when it came to romantically putting herself out there, but she was making a little progress in the dating world; she had been with another ex-agent for a while, Gilbert Beilshcmidt - no blood relation between Ludwig and himself, though they considered themselves brothers - but Madeline and Gilbert had both figured out that they worked better as friends than as a couple. Now, Madeline is starting to get vibes from this Cuban guy that owns an ice cream shop near where she works...

Ludwig and Feliciano share an apartment, much to Ludwig's never-to-be-admitted happiness...and utter frustration. While Ludwig is more of an organized, neat-freak, germaphobe; Feliciano is relaxed, spontaneous, and not too concerned about worrying over the small things. Ludwig is constantly picking up after his Italian roommate, and Feliciano is always trying to get the German to relax and have fun. With Ludwig's more-stressful-than-not job as the head surgeon at the hospital, and Feliciano's job at a local school as the Arts and Music teacher, the both of them were always thankful that they had someone else to vent to at the end of the day.

Yao went back to China for a few years, reconciling himself with the past that remained there. After returning to America and settling down, Yao set up a small acupuncture and massage place to keep himself afloat. He had always been fascinated with how alternative medicines could help people, and his father had been an acupuncturist back in China, so he knew the trade quite well. He's always calling his younger siblings, keeping in touch with them as much as he can since they all split off to live their own lives. Yao won't admit it, but he's incredibly grateful for the make-shift family he finds himself with - even if they all annoy him to his wits' end sometimes. He was happy to take on the role of "Grandfather" to Amelia and Ivan's twins, as well as Francis and Katyusha's children; Yao is keen on spoiling them, but he doesn't mind helping out or giving advice either.

Natalia went back to her schooling not long after The Foundation incident, pursuing a career as a lawyer; stern and strong-willed, Natalia is a terror in the courtroom. At first, she wasn't incredibly fond of Amelia, seeing the American as a potential threat to her reunited family. But, after observing her and Ivan together, Natalia saw that Amelia made her brother genuinely happy, so she was willing to accept the peppy blonde as a new addition to their small family. Although, it's worth mentioning that she had quite bluntly told the "loud American" that, if Amelia were to _ever_ hurt her big brother or break his heart, she wouldn't hesitate to repay her two-fold. While rather cold and straightforward to most people, Natalia is completely different when dealing with her nieces and nephews.

Arthur got a job as an accountant, not for any love of the actual work, but because he was quite talented with numbers and money managing. He helps manage Francis and Katyusha's restaurant, often getting into arguments about Francis' spending on overly expensive imported goods. He's the go-to baby-sitter of their group, taking more joy out of the task than he puts on. As the years have passed, his relationship with Madeline has slowly shifted from one of bad ending puppy-love to something more comfortable for the both of them; Arthur had regained Madeline's trust, and he's proud that she has moved on by herself and is happy with her life. Arthur is rather content in his solitary life, though he does get somewhat lonely from time-to-time, and he can't help but shake his head when the others try to set him up on blind dates...

As for Amelia and Ivan...

"Whew...It's always crazy when we get the whole gang together, especially with the kids thrown into the mix as well now, but it would suck if we weren't able to do it," Amelia sighed contentedly, flopping down onto the couch. She patted the denim blue surface in a silent invitation for Ivan to join her.

Ivan didn't hesitate, slipping onto the lumpy couch and settling down on his side, Amelia's back resting against his chest. They often ended up in this position when they cuddled on the couch, with Ivan taking up most of the room and Amelia perching on the edge; it may not seem too comfortable, but they didn't mind it. "Mm...," Ivan hummed in response, shifting so that one of his legs was bent back and the other was propped up on the arm of the couch.

Adjusting to civilian life had been difficult for Ivan, as he still struggled with his past life and the things he had done, but Amelia was always there for him. They had their fights still, just like any couple; some small, others long and drawn out, but nothing they couldn't work out and forgive. Amelia had followed Feliciano into the teaching sector, taking up the role of PE teacher at the local school; she loves working with all the different kids, and making exercise fun for them. Ivan had decided to try and use his training from The Foundation for something better than its intention, landing a job at the rather small police department in their town; it's mostly a desk job, though, since they don't really deal with anything more serious than robberies.

Amelia smiled when Ivan wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled them closer together. "Did the twins go down easy for their nap?" she asked, lightly running her hand over the scars on the Russian's arms and hands. Ivan had become more comfortable with letting other people see his scars, though he still preferred to cover them up most of the time when it was anyone other than family or friends. But, Amelia still saw it as progress, since he hadn't even liked her to see them at first.

"When do they ever?" Ivan rumbled in response, resting his chin atop Amelia's sandy blonde head. "Alexei starts to fall asleep, and then Alexandra gets him all worked up again...Then, when Alexandra starts to doze off, Alexei wakes her up by crying. I swear, they have to do this routine _every_ time before they both fall asleep."

Tony let out a snorting sigh, getting up from his spot near the couch. After they had gotten home from the diner, Ivan had immediately told Amelia to give him a bath outside. The pug was actually a light grey color when he was clean, and had creamy white fur on his underbelly.

"Well, Maddie and me did something similar - although, I was the one that kept us up most of the time," Amelia giggled, squirming around in Ivan's arms until she was facing him. "Hey, you," she said in a sing-song tone, looping her arms loosely around his neck. "Guess what?"

Ivan gave her a lopsided grin, murmuring out, "What?"

Amelia pouted. "You're s'posed to guess, big guy..."

"You know how bad I am at guessing games," Ivan replied, smirking teasingly at the blonde.

Amelia rolled her sapphire blue eyes. "You're no fun," she huffed, her pink lips pursing into a mock frown. She leaned in closer, pressing a kiss to Ivan's mouth. She smirked slightly against his lips when he made a pleased sound in the back of his throat, pulling away teasingly when he tried to deepen the kiss. "Think you can guess now?" she asked, flicking him on the nose playfully.

Blinking in surprise at being flicked on the nose, Ivan retaliated by flipping them over, Amelia letting out a short yelp at the sudden action. "I think I can guess, da?" he replied in a soft, rumbling tone, his large hands resting on the American's curvy hips. Taking the initiative now, Ivan brought them back into a kiss, his hands shifting up to Amelia's sides for a brief moment before slowly trailing back down. "Я тебя люблю*...," he murmured against her lips.

"Love you, too...," Amelia sighed in a breathy tone, smiling brighter than the sun in a clear, blue sky.

* * *

><p>toi petit diablotin: "You little imp" <strong>in French<strong>

Я тебя люблю: "I love you" **in Russian**

I sort of forgot about Tony until right now...But, he returns in the end!

This is the end of Amethyst Haze, but I plan on doing some little drabbles as a not-so-sequel sequel! I wanted to continue it, but I feel that the story ended in a way that I'm happy with, and I don't want to ruin that by trying to come up with a genuine sequel. So, I'll be doing drabbles - both serious and comedic, and everything else in between! - in an "after the story" setting. I hope you'll all like it!

I would like to thank everyone who read this, left a review, followed, and favorited it! Thank you so much, guys!


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